


How it Goes

by fevered_dreams



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Crossdressing, Light BDSM, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2018-11-23 15:33:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 42,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11405337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fevered_dreams/pseuds/fevered_dreams
Summary: Everybody grows up eventually, no matter how hard it is.Even Kaiba and Jounouchi.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whispers* i was suddenly brought into a yugioh mood because of vrains, and i really just want to write these two having sex tbh
> 
> (but maybe with some nice slow burn? idk)

It would be a lie to say that Kaiba had completely forgotten about Yugi and his friends over the past few years. They registered faintly in distant corners of his mind, and, for some time afterwards, when he thought he could force the Pharaoh to face him again, he had even kept tabs on them.

Anzu had accomplished her goal of venturing abroad to attend a prestigious dance school. Recently, he had even heard that she was beginning to perform publicly, courtesy of an unwanted message Yugi had left him. Yugi himself had shied away from Duel Monsters in favor of developing his own game, despite how much Domino City rallied for his return in the pro leagues and other major tournaments. Otogi, too, was still in the gaming industry, though he posed little of a threat to Kaiba. Honda had settled on studying to become an engineer, and, ironically enough, seemed like he might have the skills to work for Kaiba Corporation, much to Kaiba's chagrin.

Then there was Jonouchi. He was the only one to remain as an active Duel Monsters player, with Pegasus and Industrial Illusions as his sponsor. Mokuba liked to watch some of the tournaments that Jounouchi participated in before regaling Kaiba with what he probably thought were wonderful tales of Jounouchi's victories. 

Kaiba, on the other hand, had little interest in Jounouchi's efforts. He was't the one Kaiba had been waiting for.

Ultimately, the only person from those tumultuous years that he was still in regular contact with was Pegasus, one of his more infuriating business partners.

As a result, he was currently being forced to sit across Pegasus in a ridiculous maid café because Pegasus claimed that the atmosphere calmed him and thus helped him think better. An absolutely shameless lie, considering there was nothing calming about being surrounded in overdressed young women, most of whom were probably still under aged, who were forced to fake smiles and speak with a callow voice that grated on Kaiba terribly. The decor, too, rapidly gnawed through his already thin patience.

To make it worse, the owners of the establishment had cleared at the rest of the café to give them privacy, thanks to Pegasus' hefty payment. The emptiness of the place only served to worsen the experience, considering the fact that now all of the annoyingly chipper servers had all of their focus fixed on the two of them.

"Kaiba," Pegasus drawled, delicately sipping at his own cup of coffee, "I'm so glad you could finally join me for a cup of coffee. I can't remember how many times I've invited you to come here with me."

"That's because it was unnecessary for me to indulge your willfulness," Kaiba scoffed. He, too, drank some of his own coffee because he felt that, otherwise, he would never be able to survive the rest of the meeting. "Our previous negotiations have served their purpose well enough without us having a sit-down together for over-priced coffee."

"Oh, come now, you really can't mean to say that you're not enjoying this at all," Pegasus said.

"That is exactly what I mean to say."

Pegasus clicked his tongue. "That's because you haven't made any attempts to take advantage of what this place really has to offer." He gestured for one of the 'maids' to come over. At first, a petite brunette made her way over to their table. Despite how bright and wide her shimmery eye makeup made her look, she couldn't completely hide the calculating look in her eyes as she stepped over to them lightly.

However, Pegasus only sent her an annoyed glance before signaling for another girl to come to their table. The new girl, a tall and somewhat lanky blonde, pretended to have missed the obvious call for her.

Pegasus wouldn't allow it, though. "Oh, Junko, are you being coy again? Don't be embarrassed just because the infamous Seto Kaiba is here with me this time. He won't bite. I promise." Pegasus gave Kaiba a suggestive sidelong glance that Kaiba simply chose to ignore. He always hated the games that Pegasus insisted on playing, but KaibaCorp needed to maintain the working relationship they had with Industrial Illusions in order to keep hold over the monopoly they were set to have over the Duel Monsters industry. Like hell Kaiba was going to let that snake Zigfried inch his way into the gaming industry.

Begrudgingly, the girl, Junko, trudged over to them. She kept her head down low, so it was difficult to completely discern what she looked like, but, from her arms and legs which peeked through from the almost uncomfortably short dress she was wearing, Kaiba could see that she had much more muscle definition than Kaiba had anticipated from a woman working at a maid café.

Kaiba couldn't say that he disliked the look, though. In fact, her lean, yet toned legs were just his type and more than a little enticing to look at. The thin heels she was wearing accentuated the defined muscles of her calves, and, coupled with the fact that they were impressively long, they made the sheer thigh highs covering them look even better.

Eventually, she finally reached the small table they were sitting at and knelt beside their table, head still down. "Welcome, Masters. What can this humble maid do for you today?"

Her voice was also deeper than Kaiba had expected, and the fact that she was obviously trying to raise the pitch of her face to sound 'cute' made it sound even more strangled. Looking down at her, Kaiba couldn't imagine how some people actually enjoyed these types of services; he felt bad for himself for being trapped at that table with Pegasus amidst a blinding field of pink.

Pegasus, on the other hand, seemed delighted with the whole thing. "Oh, Junko," he cooed, turning to her, "you're as pretty as ever."

"Thank you, Master. It pleases me greatly to hear that from you," she replied dispassionately.

With that kind of attitude, Kaiba wondered how she managed to keep her job. He supposed that there were some clients who might like a more cold maid quipping at them rudely while she served them.

"Junko, how about you stir some milk and cream into my friend's coffee here," Pegasus said. "I think he could use a little less bitterness in his life."

"I am _not_ your friend," Kaiba argued, "and I don't want any milk and cream."

The woman seemed happy enough to simply leave Kaiba be, but, after a pointed look from Pegasus, she sighed tiredly before rising to her feet. Despite Kaiba's protests, she only shook her head at him with a flippant shrug as she attended to his drink.

For the first time, Kaiba was able to catch a clear glimpse at the maid's face. Her bone structure was more angular than that of the average youthful face of the other employees, and her eyes are sharp, as opposed to wide and appealing. Kaiba found her appearance more compelling, though; her gaze held a gleam of determination, even underneath the submissive look she was expected to maintain for her job, and Kaiba had always liked fierce eyes like hers.

Strangely enough, something about her face seemed oddly familiar. However, the feeling of recognition was so faint that he quickly let it fade away.

Ultimately, she only added in a hint of milk into his coffee. Enough to please Pegasus, presumably, and not so much that it would completely ruin Kaiba's drink. Maybe she was a passable maid.

Finally, Pegasus was finally satisfied enough that he began negotiating their next joint endeavor.

"Kaiba Corporation is in the midst of developing a new duel disk system that will generate a more sophisticated version of Solid Vision within a more compact system. I wanted to make sure that Duel Monster cards would be able to work with the new system properly, while also wondering if you'd approve of having digital versions of the cards uploaded on a databank," Kaiba explained.

By the end of their unconvential meeting, Kaiba and Pegasus had come to an agreement to re-release older versions of Duel Monsters cards to be compatible with the new duel disk system. Still, the discussion for how much of Kaiba Corporation's money would be allocated to helping with the re-release had yet to be settled, along with the whole concept of digital releases of cards. Regardless, at least Pegasus seemed receptive to the idea.

"By the way, Kaiba boy," Pegasus said after the maid had begun to clear off some of the excess trash on their table, "have you been keeping up with Yugi and his friends? You were quite close with them, back in the day."

Kaiba scoffed. "Why would I bother myself with any of them? Now that the only decent rival I ever had is gone, I no longer have any reason to concern myself with them. Without him, I never would have."

"Don't be like that. Yugi is still a fine duelist in his own right," Pegasus said.

"Regardless, he's hardly active anymore when it comes to dueling."

"And Jounouchi is doing quite well for himself in his climb up the ranks in the professional leagues," Pegasus continued.

Kaiba scoffed again, the sound derisive. "That just goes to show how poor of a duelist everyone else is, if they're being defeated by someone like him."

The maid, Junko, who remained kneeling next to them at Pegasus' request in spite of how eager she was to leave, suddenly flinched and jostled the table. Kaiba would have admonished her if not for how quickly she apologized and set to clean the small coffee spill that had resulted.

If only all of Kaiba Corporation's employees were that effective at their job.

"You can't truly believe that Jounouchi is a bad duelist. If I had to rank him, I would put him just below you as one of the top three duelists," Pegasus admitted easily.

"His main dueling strategy involves relying on luck and other cheap tricks. He rarely ever employs actual skill," Kaiba argued. "I still don't understand why you've chosen to sponsor him out of all people."

Pegasus remained silent as he finished the rest of his coffee. Then, he glanced over at their maid for the day with that sly, calculating grin that engendered painful memories of Duelist Kingdom. "Jounouchi, are you really just going to sit there and let Kaiba say such things to you? You disappoint me. Here, I was hoping to have some fun with you two today."

The maid froze, and Kaiba suddenly realized why she, no, _he_ , had looked so familiar. Kaiba couldn't decide if he was more shocked or annoyed at the revelation. Even worse, Jounouchi looked good.

"Pegasus," Jounouchi grit out angrily, "didn't I tell you before that you're not allowed to reveal my true identity while I'm working. It ruins the _illusion_ and could cost me my job." His voice now lacked the feigned pitch and bubbliness that he had been lacing his voice with while he was 'Junko'. Now, he had that same unrefined tone that he always did, though it sounded a touch more subdued.

In addition, now that he knew to identify this person as Jounouchi, Kaiba wondered how he hadn't been able to see it from the beginning. Though he was wearing a mask of makeup on top of the fact that his face seemed to have thinned out a bit with time, Jounouchi still had some of that same rough boyish look that Kaiba remembered.

"Now, now, Jounouchi," Pegasus soothed, "I am quite sure that I can convince the owner of this café to forgive the two of us for today. Besides, I made sure that no one besides Kaiba and I, alongside the other employees, would be here today. Your other patrons won't be disillusioned whatsoever. You'll still be their beloved Junko."

"Well, that doesn't change how disillusioned I am," Jounouchi complained with a heavy sigh. "I'm used to you coming around to try to rile me up, but I can't say that I'm not shocked to see Kaiba out of all people here, too." Jounouchi glanced over at Kaiba with a smirk. "I never would've expected you to have this kind of fetish."

"I do not," Kaiba hissed. "More importantly, I never thought I'd see you working at a place like this."

Jounouchi just shook his head dismissively. "Well, now that the cat's out of the bag, I assume the two of you are almost done? When I first heard that we were only going to have one table of _special_ customers this afternoon, I thought it'd be an easy day for me, but, instead, I had to cater to you two."

Pegasus laughed good-naturedly before he rose up from his seat. "Yes, I think we're done here for today. Are you working late today, too?"

"I've got a shift until ten because one of the others called in sick today. Why they need a café to be open until that late, I'm not sure, but I couldn't say no."

"I hope you're not working yourself too hard," Pegasus said. "Nonetheless, it was nice to see you, Jounouchi."

"Yeah, yeah. As if we don't see each other often enough." Jounouchi turned once more to address Kaiba. "And you. I haven't seen you in the flesh in years, but you still have that same self-satisfied look on your face as ever."

"And you have that same clueless look I remember, deadbeat," Kaiba quipped back, "but, even without seeing you again, I would've known as much."

Jounouchi snarled at Kaiba in response, but didn't lash back the way Kaiba had expected. Instead, he simply waved them off with a sarcastic grin and 'come back again'.

"Well, Kaiba?" Pegasus asked after they left. "Didn't I tell you going to this café would be a nice experience if you really took advantage of it?"

"Are you kidding me?" Kaiba jeered as he stepped into his car. "That was one of the biggest wastes of my time."

"If you say so," Pegasus said, with that same, sly look on his face that Kaiba hated.

 

* * *

 

 

Against all of his better judgement, Kaiba returned to that eyesore of a café later that night. He had Isono park the car outside the building at 9:50 before stepping into the café moments later.

"Welcome, Master! We're incredibly sorry for the inconvenience, but we're about to close soon. If you could come back..." Jounouchi, still dressed as Junko, trailed off after he spotted Kaiba before his exaggeratedly happy countenance turned into a scowl. "What are you doing here? Did you come back just to taunt me?"

"I'm here to ask you a few questions," Kaiba answered. "Come with me."

"I'm still working, if you couldn't tell," Jounouchi said angrily. "And why would I want to go anywhere with you? You show up out of the blue after years and demand that I do whatever you want? I do have my own life, you know."

"I'll pay the manager however much it takes to get you off your shift," Kaiba replied, already pulling out his checkbook, "and, if you come with me, you can order whatever you'd like at whatever place you'd like to go."

Jounouchi deliberated briefly. "Fine," he said. "You go talk to the manager while I change."

The price for ending Jounouchi's shift by five minutes, along with getting him out of clean-up duty, was laughably cheap. By the time the short negotiation had ended, Jounouchi had already returned back to the floor of the café, sans maid outfit.

Part of Kaiba was strangely disappointed, but he also chose to ignore that part of him.

"So?" Jounouchi asked. "Anywhere I want?"

"Anywhere you want and as much as you want."

Kaiba had assumed Jounouchi would insist on dragging Kaiba to one of the most expensive restaurants that happened to still be open before ordering the priciest item off the menu. From what Kaiba could recall, Jounouchi had an almost disgustingly large appetite.

Instead, Jounouchi had lead Kaiba to a simple bar a few minutes away without a word, without even looking back to check if Kaiba was still following him. None of the other customers seemed to care or notice Kaiba or Jounouchi's presence, thankfully.

"I'll have an Old Fashioned," Jounouchi said as he left to find the two of them a secluded table. Kaiba ordered himself a whisky on the rocks and made his way in the direction Jounouchi had disappeared off to. Perhaps due to the knowledge of who he was, the bartender gave them both generous glasses. Or, perhaps, he was hoping for a nice tip based on the smoldering glance he gave Kaiba as his fingers lingered on Kaiba's hands.

Kaiba hated people like him the most.

He quickly left, and once Kaiba spotted Jounouchi, he was almost surprised at how natural he looked. Kaiba had only ever thought of Jounouchi as that deadbeat kid that had bluffed and lucked his way through his duels, all while sporting that childish grin all over the place. Partially illuminated by the low lights around them at the table he had chosen, Jounouchi looked like the young adult that Kaiba supposed he now was. The flickering of the single candle on the table made Jounouchi's sharp eyes swim.

"So," Jounouchi began after taking a slow sip from his drink, "you wanted to ask me a few questions?"

Kaiba swallowed down a mouthful as his own drink and relished in the way it burned through his throat before enveloping his stomach in a burst of heat. "I never expected you to work as a crossdesser at a maid café."

"You already said that."

Kaiba set his drink down. "I want to know why."

"Why?" Jounouchi asked incredulously. "To make money. I'm pretty sure you understand the concept of a job. You're the CEO of a huge company, after all."

"I want to know why you're choosing to work there, out of all places."

Jounouchi snarled angrily, slamming his glass down angrily. "Look, it's none of your business where I work. I know you love to micromanage shit, but my life has nothing to do with you, so if you're just here to shame me for cross dressing or whatever, I'm leaving."

Jounouchi moved to stand up from the table until Kaiba grabbed his arm to stop him. "Are you being forced to work there?"

"Yeah, by the fact that I need money," Jounouchi replied sarcastically, slowly settling back down into his seat. "We're not all huge billionaires like you with fortunes almost as large as our egos."

"Is _someone_ forcing you to work there?" Kaiba asked again through gritted teeh.

Jounouchi studied Kaiba for a few moments with a raised brow before he burst out laughing. "What? You think some yakuza member is blackmailing me into working for a maid café?" Jounouchi asked in-between his infuriating laughing fit. "You always were dramatic."

"Like I said, I just can't imagine you working a customer service job, much less one that requires you to crossdress and _please_ customers like that," Kaiba explained testily. He took another gulp from his drink as Jounouchi began laughing again.

"Come on, Kaiba. It's been years," Jounouchi said. His glass now was already half empty. "I'm not as prideful as I used to be, and I am most definitely working there of my own free will. The job may be a bit weird, but the pay's not bad for how easy it is, and the customers are usually more awkward than anything else. I feel like you're under the impression that the place is housing some secret prostitution ring, but there's really nothing sinister going on." He shrugged before downing the rest of his drink in one long gulp. The muscles of his throat contracted rhythmically as he swallowed, and Kaiba couldn't help but watch.

"Is that really all?" Kaiba asked.

"That is all, I promise. Or do you think Pegasus is the one forcing me into it?" Jounouchi asked with an amused smile.

"I wouldn't be surprised."

Jounouchi shook his head nonchalantly. "Pegasus may not be the most conventional sponsor, but he's really not bad at the end of the day. Still, I'm surprised that you care about me, to be honest. Didn't I used to just be some deadbeat to you that you only dealt with because I was friends with Yugi?"

"Even so, I'd feel guilty if I allowed you to stay within the grip of some nefarious group. It seemed like something that would happen to someone as clueless as you, after all, and I figured if that was the case, your friends would've come begging me for help eventually, considering I'm the only competent person you all know. So, I thought it would be easier to simply settle the issue earlier than later."

Jounouchi rested his chin on his hand as he leaned forward to study Kaiba. "I'm surprised to hear you so concerned for someone other than yourself or Mokuba. What happened to that stiff, self-serving asshole I knew back in the day?"

"You're not the only one who's changed. It's been years, after all."

For example, Jounouchi looked good. His carefree and heavy-lidded eyes matched well with his slightly parted lips and broader shoulders. That gangly little brat that Kaiba knew was still there, but also not, and it drove Kaiba mad.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Jounouchi echoed.

Kaiba, too, finished the rest of his drink quickly to occupy his attention away from Jounouchi's eyes. When did his gaze become so piercing?

"Well," Jounouchi drawled as he leaned back in his seat carelessly, "if that's all you wanted to know, then I better get going." Kaiba couldn't tell if it was because of the dim mood lighting surrounding them, but a deep flush was beginning to spread across Jounouchi's face. The red made his eyes burn even brighter.

"I'll give you a ride home" Kaiba said as he set his now empty glass aside. "It would be a waste to let you get into some drunken shenanigans after deciding that you're not in danger."

Jounouchi hummed lowly as he stood. "You really are different now, huh? To be honest, I feel like I should be worried. Are you sure _you're_ not the one being threatened by some 'nefarious group'?"

"I could just leave you here, if you really want me to."

"No, that's ok," Jounouchi breezed, "I've always wanted to ride in one of your fancy cars. Feel what it's like to be one of the insufferable upper class, even if just for a short car ride."

Kaiba remained silent as he lead Jounouchi out of the bar. While they were walking there, he had sent Isono a message to wait outside for him, and, as dependable as ever, Isono was waiting outside patiently.

However, something strange overtook Kaiba as they stepped outside. He turned his head to look at Jounouchi who walked beside him easily. Jounouchi's face was still flushed, and his eyes were even more captivating under the glare of the streetlights above them. Kaiba had never cared for the color yellow, or gold, or anything in that family, but Jounouchi's eyes and hair shimmered in the air enticingly, like the painfully beautiful promise of a better life.

Kaiba had already fallen for the allure of such a promise before, and he knew he shouldn't go for it now. However, that damn shimmering stole away all of his reasoning, and he presumed he would be worried if his body wasn't so hot.

Later, Kaiba would swear that something strange had overtaken him, and he was suddenly reminded of those haunting Millenium Items that had plagued his, _their_ , past. He felt like his body was being compelled as his mind lost focus on everything except Jounouchi besides him, and he couldn't understand what has driving him, but he decided that, just this once, he would just let it happen.

Kaiba hadn't even noticed that he had stopped walking until Jounouchi, too, stopped and cocked his head at Kaiba wonderingly.

Then, quickly and suddenly like a broken spring that had been wound painfully tight around his throat falling apart, Kaiba lunged forward and pulled Jounouchi towards him harshly by the back of his neck.

Surprised, Jounouchi struggled haphazardly, movements slow due to the alcohol. However, when Kaiba planted his lips against Jounouchi as he dragged the two of them towards the car, Jounouchi relaxed and his hold and returned the gesture eagerly.

"Isono," Kaiba growled, "entertain yourself around this area until I ask for your return. Don't drink any alcohol."

"Of course not, Mr. Kaiba." Isono bowed deeply and turned to walk away.

"Kaiba!" Jounouchi argued weakly, "you can't just make Isono leave."

"I can," Kaiba said curtly, voice mumbled from where his lips were pressed against Jounouchi's neck.

He fumbled the car door open before pushing Jounouchi inside and roughly closing it behind him. Despite his protests, Jounouchi responded to him readily; he fell back against the seats with ease, spreading his legs to let Kaiba settle in-between them as they kissed. Even Jounouchi tasted like honeyed gold thoroughly mixed with the amber Bourban from his drink, and Kaiba wondered if just licking the taste out of Jounouchi's mouth would be enough to drag him over from tipsy to drunk.

Suddenly, Kaiba was reminded of Jounouchi's stocking-clad legs perched upon a pretty pair of heels. It was a shame that there were no stockings are heels in the car, but Kaiba was plenty satisfied with the sight of Jounouchi's bare legs after slipping off his ragged jeans.

They were slim, but lean with an impressive layer of muscle. Kaiba lavished them with attention, licking his way up to Jounouchi's crotch as he lifted Jounouchi's legs onto his shoulders.

"Kaiba," Jounouchi whined, leaning up on his elbows. "Take off your shirt."

Kaiba was tempted to ignore Jounouchi's request to watch him squirm, but Jounouchi pawed at his chest with so much fervor that Kaiba felt it would be too cruel to deny him. Jounouchi slipped Kaiba's turtleneck off swiftly and immediately turned the attention to Kaiba.

"Damn, Kaiba," Jounouchi marveled breathlessly, running his hands over Kaiba's torso reverently, "you've been working out."

"Like what you see?" Kaiba teased.

"Oh yeah," Jounouchi said. "I really fucking like it." Kaiba let Jounouchi stroke his chest for some time, pride growing each time Jounouchi's fingers dipped into the grooves between his defined abdominal muscles. Jounouchi's touch was simultaneously gentle, yet heavy, and Kaiba let out a pleased breath when Jounouchi rubbed his thumb over Kaiba's nipple.

However, he quickly grew restless and slowly pushed Jounouchi's hands to the side so he could remove Jounouchi's shirt and press his chest against Jounouchi's. Jounouchi didn't have as much muscle mass as Kaiba, but he was fit and warm. Or, perhaps Kaiba was the one generating all the heat. Either way, the air around them was hot and charged, and Kaiba felt as if he were panting simply to soak in enough oxygen.

The two of them made little noise, though, save the faint moans that the two made against each other's skin. Kaiba found himself incapable of leaving Jounouchi's legs as he licked and kissed his way up them. Jounouchi seemed more than content to let Kaiba continue his ministrations, occasionally lacing his fingers in Kaiba's hair. His touch was softer than Kaiba had expected from someone so brash.

Eventually, Jounouchi pulled his legs back away from Kaiba's shoulder so he could drag Kaiba's head back down for a deep kiss. Even though Jounouchi's movements were slightly uncoordinated from the drink he had earlier, he matched Kaiba's moves amazingly well; whenever Kaiba ground his hips down against Jounouchi, Jounouchi responded by tilting his own hips up in return with just as much vigor, and, even though their cocks were still clothed, the way they brushed together was electric.

Nonetheless, Kaiba was beginning to grow restless. He moved to remove Jounouchi's boxers, only to be pushed away.

"Do you..." Jounouchi groaned. "Do you have condoms in here?"

"What?" Kaiba growled in frustration. "I'm clean. As careless as you can be, I bet you're clean, too."

"That's not the point," Jounouchi breathed, drawing away from Kaiba. "We should make sure to be safe."

Kaiba chose to mouth at Jounouchi's neck instead of respond.

"Kaiba!"

And with that word, Kaiba felt as though the spell had been broken. He felt as if the fog at the edge of his mind had been cleared, and, while Jounouchi still looked stunningly attractive from where he was laying underneath Kaiba, golden hair mused, eyes molten, and lips bruised red and tinted with slick saliva, Kaiba finally understood exactly what was going on in front of him.

Kaiba drew back abruptly, his back hitting the door of the car. Clumsily, he pulled on his shirt and pulled out his phone.

"Kaiba?" Jounouchi asked hesitatingly.

"I'm sorry," Kaiba mumbled, pushing open the door. "I'll tell Isono to drive you back home."

"And what about you?"

"I'll get someone else to take me home."

Kaiba knew that Jounouchi would be able to get another word in and say something maddeningly reasonable if Kaiba let him, so Kaiba snapped the door behind him immediately afterwards before hurrying away with large strides.

He didn't want to admit to himself how he was running away from the problem like the kind of coward that he absolutely despised. At that moment, all he wanted was to sleep the whole thing off, instead of deal with what he had just allowed happen.

Except, somewhere deep in his mind, Kaiba really couldn't find it in himself to regret meeting Jounouchi again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i like to think that, a few years after the ending of yugioh, that kaiba and jounouchi mellow out a bit, considering all the weird "ancient egyptian" shenanigans they went through together + just the fact of growing older
> 
> still, i hope they seem in-character?


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Kaiba didn't startle awake with a headache drilling through his skull and a mouth so dry that it felt like he it was cracking apart from his jaw at the blaring of his alarm. That meant that he couldn't blame what happened last night, which he remembered terribly clear, on being drunk. Still, he downed a small pitcher of water and three painkillers so he could at least pretend.

Before he had fallen asleep the past night, Kaiba had gotten a message from Isono that Jounouchi had safely made it home. Isono had also informed Kaiba, unbidden, that Jounouchi seemed fairly upset the whole ride, hardly responding to Isono's questions regarding Jounouchi's well-being. Kaiba hadn't responded because there was no need to, though he had been tempted to tell Isono to mind his own damn business. At the same time, Kaiba felt too inexplicably guilty to say as much.

What did it matter if Jounouchi was upset? From what Kaiba could remember, the flighty, overreactive little brat from years ago got upset at almost every little thing that could be even mildly construed as an insult. While it seemed like Jounouchi's impulsive anger may have ebbed over the years, it was hardly as if being in his presence for no more than an hour could give Kaiba any definitive proof for or against it.

It didn't matter. Jounouchi didn't matter. What happened the other day didn't matter because it was a mistake born from a moment of madness that didn't need to be thought about anymore.

Kaiba had almost convinced himself of as much, too. For about thirty-six hours, he had managed to avoid thinking about Jounouchi in-between his continued efforts on KaibaCorp's new duel disk. Life was returning back to normal without Jounouchi's goldenrod eyes and honey lips to distract and confuse him, and Kaiba was more than happy for it.

Kaiba didn't want Jounouchi in his life because he didn't need him. He was fine as is. Everything was fine.

Then, two days later, Mokuba had burst into Kaiba's office with nary a concern for what he was about to do to his older brother.

"Seto!" Mokuba said excitedly, flopping down on Kaiba's office couch to scroll through something on his phone. "Guess what?"

"What," Kaiba answered listlessly as he continued to type without so much as a glance Mokuba's way.

Kaiba could hear Mokuba snort at Kaiba's inattention, but he continued on nonetheless. "Jounouchi's one of the finalists for another pro dueling tournament again tomorrow! He hasn't lost one since he really got into the pro dueling circuit two years ago, but some of his opponents look pretty tough, especially the one who came all the way from Peru."

In a normal circumstance where his judgement wasn't fragmented by flashes of lustered gold, Kaiba would've simply scoffed Mokuba's comments aside as usual. However, this time, memories of Jounouchi, shirtless and flushed against the seat of his car crashed through his mind, and Kaiba paused.

Mokuba, despite how distracted with his phone he appeared to be, noticed and also paused in response. "Seto? Is something wrong? Did you make a miscalculation with the new design?"

"Of course not. I never make mistakes."

Kaiba couldn't see Mokuba's face clearly, but he was sure that Mokuba was rolling his eyes at him. Over the years, Mokuba had grown much more brazen than he used to be, especially now that he was in the throes of his adolescence. He was nowhere near as bad as Jounouhci had been, but Kaiba was still thankful for the fact that Mokuba was happy to keep living in the mansion after Kaiba bought himself a penthouse. Kaiba wasn't sure how he would handle living with a hormonal teenage boy.

"Anyway, I'm going to go watch Jounouchi's duel in the finals," Mokuba finished offhandedly.

Kaiba should have kept his mouth shut and just forget about it, let the whole moment pass and continue living his life as he always had and always should. "When are the finals?"

A moment of silence. "Why? You've never cared about any of Jounouchi's duels before. You always just pretend to listen to me talk about them, all while probably thinking about how annoying I am," Mokuba noted.

"Then why do you tell me about them in the first place?" Kaiba asked, peering at Mokuba from over the top of his computer screen.

Mokuba shrugged. "I doubt you keep up with any of Yugi or his friends yourself, so I thought it'd be nice of me to let you know what's going on with them."

It was true that, as much as it annoyed Kaiba, Mokuba was, to a certain extent, friends with all of them. It was more difficult for Mokuba to keep up with most of them now that they were elsewhere pursuing their goals elsewhere, but there was enough regular correspondence between Mokuba and them so that he could give Kaiba numerous, but also extremely unnecessary updates on their lives. Most annoying of all was that, overall, nothing much ever changed with them, so Kaiba couldn't understand why Mokuba enjoyed telling Kaiba what amounted to the same things over and over again. Nonetheless, it all made Mokuba inexplicably happy, which was ridiculous to Kaiba.

Out of all of them, only Jounouchi had stayed close by for extended periods of time. Of course, that meant that Mokuba had the most consistent contact with Jounouchi, which also meant that most of Mokuba's repetitive updates were about Jounouchi. Specifically, his dueling exploits, which Kaiba had never bothered to pay much attention to. He had seen Jounouchi duel before and had faced Jounouchi himself a few times. He knew how Jounouchi dueled: full of immature vigor and unsubstantiated confidence that never failed to grate on all of Kaiba's sensibilities.

Not to mention, Jounouchi dueled with big, bright, burning eyes that Kaiba never liked to look at head-on. And now, he knew why; those eyes were dangerous, insidious things that someone like Jounouchi shouldn't be allowed to possess.

Though, with how everything else in Kaiba's out played out, of course that meant that Jounouchi would have them.

"Anyway," Mokuba said, sitting up to look at Kaiba questioningly, "why are you suddenly curious about Jounouchi's duels?" Mokuba studied Kaiba's face intensely, waiting for Kaiba to crack and give him a glimmer of material to sink his teeth into and rip apart until he was satisfied with the meat that he was able to rip off.

Kaiba tried to keep his voice as nonchalant as possible. "After you've praised him so much, is it that inconceivable that I would become curious to see whether or not that deadbeat finally managed to become a halfway decent duelist?"

"You didn't see anything about wanting to watch the duel for yourself," Mokuba accused.

Kaiba steeled his nerves to stop himself from giving away any telling flinches away from the truth. "I thought it was implied."

"Seto, you don't _imply_ things. Ever."

When did Mokuba become so difficult? Kaiba blamed Jounouchi. His current predicament was all his doing, Kaiba was sure of it. "Why are you arguing with me about this? Didn't you used to try to convince me to watch that deadbeat's duels with you?"

Mokuba narrowed his eyes in suspicion but didn't interrogate any further. Instead, he said, "It's set to take place the day after tomorrow."

"What time?"

"Five in the afternoon, so you don't have to worry about me missing school for it, or anything."

Kaiba made a show of looking through his calendar to check if he had enough free time to go, but both he and Mokuba knew that his schedule worked around him, not the other way around. "Ok. Let's go together."

Mokuba continued to search Kaiba's face for something incriminating, no doubt, but eventually allowed himself to settle for what he did get, which was Kaiba finally agreeing to watch one of Jounouchi's duels with him. "Alright, but you have to promise you're definitely going to come, ok?"

"I promise. Now go. I have plenty of work to do, especially now that I've agreed to go on this little excursion of yours."

Mokuba nodded easily before walking out of Kaiba's office with an infuriating bounce in his step that contrasted with the heavy hammering of blood rushing up through Kaiba's carotid and under his ears.

He shouldn't have agreed to it, much less even broached the subject in the first place, but, two days later, Kaiba found himself seeing Jounouchi duel for the first time in years.

Jounouchi's deck finally had a semblance of cohesiveness to it. Instead of a jumbled mess of random cards that he had haphazardly slung together without a thought of whether or not they meshed together sufficiently, Jounouchi had reorganized his cards so that they actually supported each other.

At the same time, his opponent, a young woman from Peru, had a clearly better constructed deck where all her cards served a greater purpose than their individual card effects. Still, Jounouchi had managed to blunder his way through the duel with those damned dice cards and more luck than a single person deserved to have.

Even now, watching Jounouchi duel with that mixture of unadulterated delight and that self-assured gleam in his eyes was too much. Kaiba turned his head away when Jounouchi announced his final attack, and he didn't look back until it was all over.

Afterwards, Mokuba shimmied his way through the crowd to go find Jounouchi, and Kaiba, in a another terrible lapse of judgement that was quickly becoming worryingly commonplace, followed. People moved aside for them easily, murmuring around them all the while, and, from where Pegasus was sitting in the front, Kaiba could spot that infuriatingly smug man grinning at Kaiba conspiratorially from behind his long hair. Kaiba, of course, ignored him.

Mokuba apparently made a habit of searching out Jounouchi after his duels because he found Jounouchi within minutes. Kaiba wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Jounouchi!" Mokuba exclaimed happily. "Congratulations! You did it again!"

"Thanks, Mokuba," Jounouchi responded, smile wide and eyes bright. "I'm glad you were able to come watch again." His eyes flittered over to Kaiba and moved away just as quickly. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah! I always like watching you duel!"

Mokuba and Jounouchi spoke for awhile, but not long enough for Kaiba to collect each piece of his scattered thoughts. He couldn't decide whether or not he should stay behind or leave knowing that Mokuba would be able to get home by himself, much less why he was even there in the first place. It would've been for the best to never see Jounouchi again while forgetting all about the other day. That would've been the easiest and smartest thing to do.

Of course, that meant that Kaiba did not leave. After a few minutes of animated conversation, Mokuba left with a skip in his step, Fuguta following faithfully behind him from where he was waiting just a few paces away. Kaiba, on the other hand, stayed behind. He didn't know what was wrong with him.

"So," Jounouchi said, cocking his head back to look at Kaiba from over his shoulder. Kaiba tried to not let his thoughts dwell on his nice Jounouchi's neck looked, tendons jutting out precariously at the stretch. "What brings you here? I didn't think you were interested in watching me duel, considering you've never come along with Mokuba before."

Kaiba wished people would stop questioning his motives. He wasn't accustomed to having to explain himself to people, much less Jounouchi, and the whole ordeal was just unnecessary. "My meeting with Pegasus the other day reminded me that he's been sponsoring your career in the professional league, so I wanted to see for myself whether or not you were worth being sponsored by him."

Jounouchi's gaze didn't look entirely convinced, but he accepted the answer nonetheless. "Well? What did you think?"

"You've improved marginally, but you're still a half-assed deadbeat duelist, and, somehow, everyone else is even worse."

Jounouchi scoffed. "At least your opinion of me has increased, even if just _marginally_." He turned around, backpack slung over one of his shoulders. "Is there anything else you need from me?"

Kaiba should have said no and just left. He didn't. "Have you had dinner yet?"

That question, strangely, lead to Kaiba driving Jounouchi back to his penthouse, with Jounouchi idly bouncing his knee as he sat in the passenger seat the entire ride there. The motion made Kaiba picture another image of Jounouchi bouncing, but he hastily pushed the thought aside. If he knew what Kaiba was thinking, Jounouchi would be even more insufferable than he already was.

"What happened to that huge mansion you used to live in?" Jounouchi asked as they walked into the penthouse, glancing around excitedly. "Even if this place is pretty fucking nice in its own right."

"I wanted to live by myself." Kaiba clicked his tongue at Jounouchi's haphazard placement of his backpack. "And don't just leave that on the floor. Put it on the rack like a civilized human being."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes but did as he was told, gingerly hanging up his jacket, too. Kaiba, inexplicably, was pleased to see Jounouchi following his orders so easily.

They stared at each other in silence for some time. Kaiba wasn't so used to feeling so off-kilter.

"Do you mind if I go to the bathroom? I need to piss really badly, and I'm curious to see what a rich person's bathroom looks like," Jounouchi said suddenly from where he was standing, hipped cocked to the side so he could lean against Kaiba's wall. The line of his body looked nice and welcoming, even if his presence in Kaiba's home was so unfamiliar.

Kaiba didn't say any of that, and instead scoffed loudly before turning his head away. "If you turn down that hall, it's the first door on your left. I trust you to not leave a mess."

Jounouchi padded away slowly, and Kaiba had to resist slumping down onto his couch immediately after hearing the sound of the bathroom door click closed. He didn't know what he was doing because none of it made sense, but he couldn't stop himself from letting it all happen.

The design of Kaiba's penthouse and everything in it was, as described by the interior decorator he had hired, 'chic minimalism', and almost everything consisted of varying shades of grayscale. Kaiba had never paid much attention to it, but, now, he wondered what adding in a few splashes of gilded gold and polished bronze would look like. Maybe in the form of leftover strands of chestnut hair strewn across his pillows and umber eyes looking up at him daringly at him amongst his sheets.

Fuck, Kaiba needed a drink.

When he was in the midst of pouring himself a heavy glass of whisky, Jounouchi sauntered out of the bathroom and planted himself next to Kaiba in the kitchen. "Your bathroom was even nicer than I anticipated. I especially liked how the water in your toilet was blue. It's nice to see your whole 'blue and white' thing translate from your unhealthy obsession with a card to your interior decorating with the whole 'blue water, white toilet'. It's nice to see that you're so dedicated."

Kaiba set his bottle of whisky down harshly. "It's not, and you know it."

"Are you sure? I also spotted a cute little cat on my way to the bathroom. It bolted away from me pretty quickly, but I could see that it was one of those fancy ones with the long white fur and big blue eyes." Jounouchi eyed Kaiba with one eyebrow cocked upwards in question. "I didn't know you had a cat."

"Her name is Chicos. I got her a few months ago because Mokuba was worried that I'd get too lonely if I didn't have anything to come home to."

" _Chicos?_ '" Jounouchi questioned, eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Mokuba named her. He thought the name was amusing," Kaiba explained.

Jounouchi laughed as he peered at the bottle in Kaiba's tense hand. "And you're even drinking Blue Label whisky? It's too bad they discontinued their White Label, huh? You could've really stretched the theme with that."

"I'm surprised that you're familiar with Johnnie Walker. I didn't think that you would be able to afford to be extravagant with your alcohol purchases."

Jounouchi shrugged. "Pegasus treats me to bougie things sometimes. Why don't you pour me a drink, too?"

Something in Jounouchi's tone, guarded and clipped with forced nonchalance, niggled at Kaiba's mind, but he was done with thinking too much about Jounouchi. So, Kaiba poured another generous glass and dropped a cube of ice in both. The addition of the ice displaced some of the whisky, spilling it across the countertop in wild arcs through the air.

"Oh, come on, Kaiba," Jounouchi whispered, dipping his finger into the spill, "you shouldn't waste good, expensive booze, even if you're rich." He dragged his finger through the liquid slowly before bringing it to his lips and sucking off the whisky he had collected on it. Kaiba refused to respond and downed three heavy gulps to occupy himself with the scorch and burn.

Jounouchi, too, began drinking with slow sips that he held in his mouth before his throat muscles slowly pushed the liquid down.

They drank in silence for some time before the both of them finished faster than they probably should have if they were concerned about being responsible.

"Are you hungry?" Kaiba asked quietly.

Jounouchi cocked his head to the side questioningly before realization dawned on him. "Oh, dinner. That's what you originally asked me here for, right?"

Kaiba didn't nod, but his reply was still felt.

Jounouchi inched closer to Kaiba, subtly pushing their glasses away at the same time. "I don't know. Are you really still in the mood to eat right now?"

"Are you not? I recall that you were always eager to eat in the past," Kaiba said.

Jounouchi chuckled. "Yeah, well, I've always had a hard time with dealing with any kind of _hunger_ , and, to be honest, I'd rather we finish what you started a few days ago."

"I thought you'd be upset about it," Kaiba said. Isono had essentially told him as much, after all.

"I can't say that I wasn't _pissed_ ," Jounouchi paused to glare at Kaiba pointedly until Kaiba stared back with an unimpressed look, "but I don't hold grudges. Besides, I just cleaned myself up in the bathroom in preparation, even if it might not be the best clean-up job."

Jounouchi's inviting smirk was dangerous, and the whole situation was absurd, but Jounouchi's glowing golden eyes were ruining him. "Don't you think you're being presumptuous?" Kaiba asked.

Instead of responding, Jounouchi closed the gap between him, and everything fell apart completely. The heat of the whisky was nowhere near comparable to the feeling of Jounouchi's mouth and body against his, and Kaiba was desperate to get Jounouchi out of his clothes.

Abruptly, Kaiba dragged Jounouchi away from the kitchen counter to steer Jounouchi towards his bedroom. Kaiba was beginning to think that, perhaps, Jounouchi was not as incorrigible as he used to be, but, considering how difficult and distracting Jounouchi was being as he continued to kiss and lave at Kaiba without end, despite the fact that they were now moving, maybe he still was a brat. Miraculously, they made their way up the stairs without either of them losing their footing and slipping down and way.

Regardless, Jounouchi was an unfairly enticing brat who looked unfairly appealing when he was laid back on Kaiba's bed, hair mused, face flushed, and lips swollen from Kaiba's attention. To be honest, Kaiba felt proud of himself for making Jounouchi, who usually looked like a cornered alley cat thriving off scraps, glowing yellow eyes and all, look so damn good.

Kaiba didn't have much time to admire his handy-work before Jounouchi started pawing at Kaiba's clothes. Afterwards, they divested Jounouchi of his clothes, too, but Kaiba chose to make a production out of it; he removed Jounouchi's shirt slowly, running his hands over Jounouchi's heaving chest in the process, and, as he teasingly pulled off Jounouchi's jeans and boxers, Kaiba made sure to scrape his nails down the sides of Jounouchi's lean thighs and slim calves the whole way down.

Jounouchi trembled with delight and moved to pull Kaiba's head back down to his own. Kaiba refused to continue to allow Jounouchi order him around, though, so he instead wrenched his head out of Jounouchi's grip to instead attach his mouth to Jounouchi's neck.

Despite not getting what he wanted, Jounouchi seemed happy enough with Kaiba's decision as he wrapped his legs around Kaiba's waist tightly to grind his dick up against Kaiba's. Kaiba groaned low, Jounouchi moaned breathily, the air around them was electric, and everything just felt so good.

Kaiba stroked his hands over Jounouchi's legs, giving extra attention to the indents of lean muscle that were tight and exposed, before leaning back so he could reach over to his bedside drawer to pull out a condom and a bottle of lube. Afterwards, he promptly laid Jounouchi's legs over his shoulders, pulling him up taut.

"You really have a thing for my legs, huh?" Jounouchi said as he ran his fingers over Kaiba's abdomen.

"I could say the same about your fascination with my chest," Kaiba countered.

Jounouchi laughed breathlessly. "Well, I can't deny that."

The two of them began kissing again, and, even with his eyes closed, Kaiba couldn't stop thinking about Jounouchi's honey straw hair. So, he grasped a fistful of it in his hand and, carefully, tugged on it to force Jounouchi even closer to him.

At the action, Jounouchi jerked his head away from Kaiba, nearly knocking Kaiba's jaw in the process, to give off a guttural groan and flex his legs to push Kaiba closer. Curious and more than a little thrilled, Kaiba tugged again, sharper, this time, and reveled in Jounouchi's resulting moan.

"I never would've guessed that you were a masochist," Kaiba gusted.

"Just a little bit," Jounouchi quipped back in a rush, "enough that it stings, but not so much that it hurts, you know what I mean?"

Kaiba didn't really know what Jounouchi meant, but that didn't mean that he couldn't pretend that he did. In line with that, Kaiba gave Jounouchi's hair one more jerk before he moved to bite down hard at the juncture between Jounouchi's neck and shoulder.

Jounouchi, pleased, mewled. "Fuck, Kaiba, I never imagined you'd be this good in bed."

Kaiba pulled himself away to admire the mark on Jounouchi's neck with a smirk, popping open the cap of the bottle of lube. "I can be even better."

Jounouchi barked out a laugh, throwing back his head in amusement. "You're still as insufferably cocky as ever, I see."

Kaiba didn't respond. Instead, he lifted Jounouchi up so he could pour lube over Jounouchi's hole before squeezing some onto his fingers. Jounouchi flinched slightly at the new sensation, but otherwise remained relaxed as Kaiba slipped a finger inside.

For a brief moment, Kaiba's mind halted to an abrupt stop as he began to consider exactly what was happening. He had never imagined that he would willingly be naked in his bed with Jounouchi, of all people, much less so overwhelmingly eager to fuck him. However, Kaiba's thoughts were once again forcibly derailed by the feeling of Jounouchi wrapped his finger. In response, he added another slick finger.

Kaiba worked Jounouchi quickly and added another finger soon enough. Before long, Jounouchi was whining impatiently. "Come on, Kaiba," Jounouchi keened restlessly. "That's enough."

"You're still as insufferably impatient as ever, I see," Kaiba echoed, eyes set to provoke.

Jounouchi was too preoccupied with Kaiba's fingers up his ass to care, and, at his continued insistence, Kaiba removed them to rip open the condom package and deftly roll it onto his dick. Jounouchi's golden eyes swam viciously with red hot desire, and Kaiba was almost afraid he was sink into their molten depths.

He did not, in the end, and was able to quell his own lust for long enough to sink his dick inside Jounouchi instead. Jounouchi was still tight around him but gave away with enough ease that Kaiba was sure he wasn't hurt. That and, judging from the pleased, breathy moans Jounouchi was letting out, Kaiba was more than certain that Jounouchi was enjoying it.

Nonetheless, Kaiba thought it would be best to give Jounouchi some time to adjust to him. Jounouchi, on the other hand, had a different idea.

"Come _on_ , Kaiba," Jounouchi growled, rocking his hips back against Kaiba's, "give it to me. I'm not going to break. I doubt you're all that good enough to do something like that."

Kaiba shouldn't have been surprised about Jounouchi finding a way to taunt him even in the middle of sex during which he had someone's cock up his ass. Nonetheless, Kaiba bit the bait with teeth ready to rend and snapped his hips forward roughly, basking in the choked moan Jounouchi let out as the force pushed him up the bed. Without giving Jounouchi a chance to recover, Kaiba continued with the harsh pace, all while including another heavy hand in Jounouchi's hair and a pointed pinch of Jounouchi's shoulder with his teeth.

Delighted, Jounouchi tossed his head to the side and moaned deeply, locking his ankles behind Kaiba's head to urge him on even further. Kaiba, of course, was happy to oblige. He pistoned his hips forward at a brutal pace, and Jounouchi made sure to push back with the same rhythm. It felt strange to admit after all of the animosity between them that stained their past, but their bodies were exceptionally compatible. At the same time, that also meant that Kaiba didn't have to worry about Jounouchi cozying up to him for his fortune because he doubted Jounouchi was crafty enough to think up a plan like that, much less patient enough to enact such a plan.

Shakily, Jounouchi pulled Kaiba's face away from his shoulder to drag Kaiba's mouth back over his own, movements uncoordinated but full of purpose. The leftover whisky on Jounouchi's tongue made his mouth taste bitter, but everything else about the kiss was so intoxicating in its own right that Kaiba couldn't imagine drawing away.

Meanwhile, Kaiba could feel his orgasm mounting, and, based on the way Jounouchi's entire body was tensing around him, along with the heavy groans that were spilling from Jounouchi's mouth into Kaiba's, detailing Jounouchi's pleasure through Kaiba's overwhelmed tastebuds, Kaiba suspected Jounouchi was nearly there, too.

As Kaiba expected, Jounouchi came a few thrusts later; he dragged his mouth away, much to Kaiba's displeasure, to let out an extended groan as his body trembled at the force of his orgasm. At the sight of the spunk splattered across Jounouchi's heaving chest, Kaiba, too, came and slumped down against Jounouchi's exhausted body.

"Kaiba, please, you have so much more muscle mass than me," Jounouchi grumbled pushing Kaiba off of him weakly. "You're going to crush me."

After Kaiba lazily rolled off of Jounouchi, the two of them lay together breathlessly for some time until the sweat and other bodily fluids finally got to them. Slowly, Kaiba got off the bed, disposing of the spent condom and padding out of the room before returning with a wet cloth. He tossed it to Jounouchi who caught it easily.

"What time is it?" Jounouchi asked, voice hoarse and gritty. Kaiba thought the sound was nice.

"About 7:30."

With a groan, Jounouchi sat up from the bed and began searching around for his clothes. "I should go."

"You're not interested in freeloading free food off of me?" Kaiba asked. "I'm shocked."

Jounouchi snorted, though the sound was muffled by the shirt that was currently over his face as he pulled it on over his torso. "I may not be the CEO of a major game company, but even I have some things I need to do."

Kaiba didn't say anything further, but he followed Jounouchi quietly as he watched him dress and pick up the rest of his stuff.

"Here." Jounouchi handed Kaiba a tattered piece of scrap paper. "My number, if you want it."

Kaiba wasn't sure if he wanted it, but he accepted it nonetheless.

"Thanks for the whisky," Jounouchi called out behind, one foot already out of the entrance.

Kaiba nodded curtly and watched Jounouchi walk out without so much as a glance backwards.

His penthouse was once again empty except for himself and Chicos who was currently nowhere to be found. In other words, everything was the same as usual, which Kaiba should've been content with, but, for some reason, the place just felt too dull.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk what to say
> 
> tell me what you think? i hope it wasn't too plodding


	3. Chapter 3

Kaiba kept Jounouchi's number. He ran his fingers over the number hastily scrawled on the page, nearly illegible, to feel the indents left behind, entered the number into his personal cell phone so that Jounouchi was one of the few personal contacts he had, meticulously as to not make a mistake, all before hiding the piece of scrap paper away in the desk drawer besides his bed.

Chicos had watched Kaiba curiously as he pushed the piece of paper far into the back corner of the drawer before she grew bored and wandered off to demand more food with impatient howls disguised as endearing meows. Kaiba didn't give her any because she was beginning to grow chubby under her giant mass of fur, and the veterinarian had advised Kaiba to stop indulging her so much. As easily as she had grown bored, Chicos turned impatient, and, with an affronted flick of her feather wisp of a tail, sauntered away from Kaiba to groom herself moodily at the top of the stairs.

First Mokuba and now Chicos was starting to get cheeky with Kaiba. For some reason, Kaiba felt compelled to blame it all on Jounouchi.

Days passed, and Kaiba refused to contact Jounouchi. It wasn't like he couldn't, especially now that he had his number, but Kaiba couldn't think of what there would be to say between them. All that happened was meet again, quip at each other like they used to, albeit less forcefully, all before they had sex. There was nothing more for the two of them.

At the same time, he couldn't bring himself to delete the number from his phone or burn that scrap of paper tucked safely away in his home.

On the other hand, instead of Jounouchi, Kaiba soon set up a meeting with Yugi, another figure from those days gone by that almost felt like some kind of elaborate dream that, every day upon awakening, was too fresh to be real.

Except the fact that _he_ was still gone meant that everything was as real as he wished it weren't.

Yugi wanted to meet under the guise of discussing a few ideas he had for a new gaming system he had thought about over the past few years but hadn't totally conceptualized until after his trip in Egypt with his grandfather. Apparently, running around ancient Egyptian ruins served as impressive inspiration. Kaiba wished he could say the same about his unwanted trip to ancient Egypt, but he supposed he was doing well enough regardless.

Still, Kaiba was sure that Yugi was also adamant on meeting with Kaiba so he could look at Kaiba with big doe eyes to ask how he and Mokuba doing, voice interwoven with patterns of concern so heinous that Kaiba wanted to split apart the seams that held the whole hideous array together. At least Jounouchi and Honda, while far more aggravating, were easier for Kaiba to understand and handle compared to Anzu and Yugi.

Nonetheless, Yugi always insisted on making an effort to pretend that they were halfway close to friends, so it wasn't surprising that Yugi had insisted on inviting Kaiba to a quaint café with a 'my treat' tacked onto the end. At least the meeting took place in a normal, overpriced café as opposed to a poorly concealed fetish bar.

"Kaiba, it's nice to see you," Yugi said with his usual animated lilt, though his voice had deepened somewhat over the years. Still, it was unmistakably bright and belonged wholly to the Yugi sitting in front of him that Kaiba didn't want to see. "I hope you've been doing well."

"I'm fine," Kaiba responded with a clip, taking a long sip from his coffee. It was hot and dark but not as bitter as he'd have liked. "What did you have in mind for your new game design?"

Disappointment flashed across Yugi's face, obnoxiously obvious like a neon sign hoisted over top Domino City's barely-hidden red light district, but he pushed on anyway with a quiet sigh. Finally, with the farce of forced friendship out of the way, Yugi began his explanation for the game system that had finally dawned upon him; it would be spherical in design, and, with the monsters and various supporting pieces all situated on a rotating platform, a wide variety of new strategies and playing styles would available to players as compared to the limited field that Duel Monsters provided.

As annoyed as he was at the fact that Yugi had been the one to come up with something like that, Kaiba was fascinated by the idea and he would be damned if another company got wind of this.

Still, Kaiba couldn't fathom what Yugi had stumbled upon in the Egyptian catacombs he had gone galavanting through that would help him condense all of his thoughts and ideas into this single concept. The only spherical item that Kaiba remembered being related to Egypt had been that damned eye Pegasus used to have, and Kaiba doubted that _that_ had inspired anything in Yugi besides festering rage.

They talked for a bit longer, but it was clear that, besides the general scheme for the game's overall setup, Yugi didn't have much more planned out. That was fine with Kaiba, though. That gave him more time to consider the technical logistics of the game in the meantime.

Kaiba should've left the conversation at that. He should've ended the meeting, walked out of the place to never look back. Instead, however, he opened his mouth and let the words slide out unbidden like a young boy asking too much from someone who had no interest in giving him anything.

"Are you aware of Jounouchi's current situation?" Kaiba asked suddenly. He nearly bit his tongue trying to stop himself, but it was too late.

"His... situation?" Yugi asked haltingly. His eyes darted uncomfortably, so Kaiba knew that Yugi was aware of something. Yugi and the rest of his friends were always terrible liars. They would never do well in the business world.

"His job," Kaiba said, voice cold and flat. "At that wretched café."

"Oh," Yugi said lamely. "Well, yeah. We were all kinda surprised when he first told us about it, but he promised that nothing bad was happening, and, when we went and visited him, it seemed like a decent place, even if it was a bit weird." Yugi paused. "How do _you_ know about that?"

"Pegausus tricked me into meeting 'Junko'."

"That certainly sounds like something Pegasus would do." Yugi shrugged with a wry grin. More so than Kaiba, Yugi actually seemed to be a bit fond of Pegasus. Nonetheless, Kaiba doubted that Yugi had completely forgotten about or forgiven Pegasus for the whole fiasco that was Duelist Kingdom. "I know Jounouchi doesn't really seem the type, but he's always been willing to do just about anything to help his family."

"What do you mean?" Kaiba asked.

Yugi remained silent for some time, studying Kaiba's expression before he spoke again. "If you don't know, then I don't think it's my place to tell you."

Kaiba smirked humorlessly. "A few years ago you probably would've told me."

"That was then, and this is now."

Kaiba sighed, finally rising out of his seat. "That's fine, then. It's nice to see you less trusting now. It was disgusting to see you frolicking around, trying to act as if everyone you knew was your best friend."

"It's not that I don't trust you-" Yugi began.

"Spare me the long-winded explanation," Kaiba growled. "Haven't I suffered through enough of them for one lifetime?"

"It's not that I don't trust you," Yugi continued regardless, voice firm. It was the most adamant Kaiba had heard Yugi in some time, and it stirred memories that Kaiba wasn't even aware that he was still hoarding away in the back of his mind, "it's just that this is Jounouchi's personal business. If you want to know more about it, you should ask him yourself so you can hear about in his words, from his own mouth."

Kaiba scoffed, striding towards the door quickly. Yugi, even if he had grown taller, was still significantly shorter than Kaiba, and it filled Kaiba with childish glee to watch Yugi stumble along by his side in an attempt to keep up with Kaiba's longer stride. "Why would I be concerned enough about that deadbeat's family affairs to want to ask for all the sad and boring details?"

"Well," and Kaiba already didn't appreciate the tone in Yugi's voice, "already seem concerned enough about it to me." From the corner of his eye, Kaiba could see a barely-there conspiratorial grin cross Yugi's face that Kaiba most definitely did not appreciate.

Instead of responding, Kaiba billowed out of the coffee shop and into his car in a single smooth motion, ignoring Yugi's pleasant farewell with the same steadfast focus that had helped propel him into his position as one of the world's youngest and most successful entrepreneurs.

He would send Yugi an email later detailing some of the more complicated logistics of their tentative deal. Right now, Kaiba just wanted a nice, stiff drink to distract him from his thoughts whirling around golden gazes and honeyed hair.

Unfortunately, the melting amber color of his drink only served to intensify those thoughts as they liquid swirled rhythmically against the glass, but Kaiba wasn't going to be the first to admit as much.

 

* * *

 

 

Another few days passed, and Kaiba still refused call Jounouchi. He continued working on his new duel disk design and exchanges a handful of infuriating emails to both Pegasus and Yugi. Yugi didn't mention anything regarding Jounouchi, though Kaiba somehow got the impression that Yugi desperately wanted to. At the same time, Yugi always was the best of them all in terms of never overstepping his boundaries.

Pegasus, on the other hand, was clearly fishing for information; interspersed with in the actual topic at hand were numerous questions regarding Kaiba's appearance at Jounouchi's latest duel, whether or not Kaiba was a fan of role-play, and offers to schedule more of their meetings at that horrible café so Kaiba could see 'Junko' more often.

He ignored them all, but Kaiba still couldn't get Jounouchi out of his mind. Even Mokuba was starting to notice something, based on the suspicious glances that he was sending Kaiba's way, but he chose to hold his tongue, at least for now.

Kaiba prided himself in being the type of person to confront his problems, he reasoned with himself. He hadn't gotten this far, accomplished so much, by dawdling and hoping that his issues would simply resolve themselves with enough time and dismissal. So, Kaiba reasoned with himself, he should face the problem head-on so that these thoughts could stop distracting him from all that truly deserved his attention.

Thus, after all of his reasoning, Kaiba took a page from Pegasus' book - though he would sooner renounce his entire life than admit as much - and paid a staggeringly hefty sum so he could reserve that café for himself on a day that Jounouchi was scheduled to work.

The café was just as hideous as Kaiba remembered, and the employees had that same crafty look in their eyes behind their cute, willing exterior. In a weird way, they almost reminded Kaiba of himself when he was younger, stuck in that orphanage and constantly digging his claws in deep wherever he could so he claw his way out. He wondered if that was the way they _felt_ , too.

Kaiba sat down, back stiff and jaw locked tight, before requesting to be served by Jounouchi. Everyone pretended as if they didn't know who he was talking about, and Kaiba supposed that it was possible many of the other maids were unaware of Jounouchi's true identity, so, through gritted teeth that clacked against each other dangerously, he gritted out the name 'Junko' and waited.

Jounouchi, to his credit, didn't show his disdain until he was right in front of Kaiba's table. Then, he snarled quietly, the sound coming out as a halting screech through his bared teeth.

"Kaiba, what game are you trying to play? I thought we were over this bullshit of trying to one-up each other all the time, but I guess you figured that being a civil human being didn't matter anymore now that we've fucked? And here I was, thinking that maybe you finally outgrew your asshole tendencies," Jounouchi hissed, eyes alight as the cup of coffee clattered precariously against the table from how hard Jounouchi slammed it down in front of Kaiba. Despite his unflattering expression, Kaiba couldn't help but enjoy the look in Jounouchi's eyes.

"I'm not trying to play any kind of game," Kaiba said calmly. "I just wanted to ask you some questions, and I didn't want you to run away, so I thought that cornering you here at your job would be the most effective way to do so."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes with such vigor that Kaiba was sure that he had seen the empty space in his skull where his brain should have been. Nonetheless, Jounouchi's shoulders dropped in acceptance, though his face now held a look of unimpressed incredulity. "Fine, whatever. What did you want to ask?"

"Sit down."

Jounouchi sat down with a huff. His face was still undeniably his, but the makeup that he had plastered on softened some of the angles of his face. Jounouchi's eyes, at least, were as compelling as ever.

"I wanted to ask about what's going on with your family," Kaiba stated bluntly.

Jounouchi paused for a moment, staring down at the sugar packets on the table dispassionately. "Why?" He finally asked in a low breath.

"Yugi mentioned something about how you would do anything for your family the other day," Kaiba said.

"Yugi? Did he say something about it when he met with you about his new game idea?"

It wasn't surprising that Yugi would tell Jounouchi about meeting him, Kaiba supposed. "It was a slip of the tongue. He then told me to ask you about it directly if I wanted to know more."

"And that's it?" Jounouchi asked. "You really want to know more? What does it matter?"

Kaiba had asked himself the same question, over and over again. He still didn't have an answer, though, so he gave none.

Jounouchi, at the realization that Kaiba wasn't going to give him a response, sighed heavily. "I don't have to tell you anything."

"No, you don't."

Jounouchi studied Kaiba's face for a few seconds before barking out a weary laugh. "You're a fucking weirdo." He fiddled with the sugar packets some. "If you really want to know, fine. I can't imagine what would happen to you if you didn't get what you wanted."

Kaiba opened his mouth to respond, but Jounouchi continued too quickly for Kaiba to get a word in. "But not here."

"Why not?" Kaiba asked.

"You really think I want to give away information like that in front of all these people?" Jounouchi scoffed, leaning back in his chair with a sweep of his leg over his knee. Even under all that makeup, Kaiba could see Jounouchi's old, self-assured smirk crowd his expression. "I don't need anyone here being privy to anything that might force me to have to work even longer hours here." Jounouchi's maid outfit was short, and Kaiba had to force himself to look away from Jounouchi's toned calve slung over his free leg which only barely hid his crotch away from view. "I promise I'll tell you all about my exciting life story later, as long as we do it somewhere else."

"I didn't think that you were smart enough to consider something like that," Kaiba said smoothly, finally taking a sip from the coffee Jounouchi had brought him earlier. "I'm impressed."

"Oh, happy days! I managed to impress the amazing and elusive Seto Kaiba! I have to tell everyone I know about this wonderful moment." Jounouchi's voice held an exaggerated lilt as he pretended to swoon in his seat. "But, seriously, I may not be a billionaire CEO or whatever, but that doesn't mean that I'm dumb. Besides, I feel like I understand people more than you do. You barely interact with anyone who isn't Mokuba, after all."

Kaiba thought back to how he could almost see himself in the calculating gazes of the other employees. "I don't know about that."

Quickly, Kaiba finished the rest of his coffee and convinced the manager to let Jounouchi end his shift earlier once again; Kaiba had reserved the place for the rest of the day, after all, so it didn't really matter if Jounouchi wasn't there to further work if there weren't going to be anymore customers.

"Listen, I won't say that I don't love getting off work early while still being paid for my whole shift," Jounouchi said as he slid into the passenger seat of Kaiba's car, "but you really gotta stop doing that. It's going to make me look bad to the manager if I keep ditching because of you."

"It's not like he's not profiting regardless," Kaiba rebuked, "but I won't make a habit out of it."

Kaiba was positive that Jounouchi was rolling his eyes at him, but he refused to look at Jounouchi again until they reached Kaiba's penthouse. As soon as they entered, Kaiba could faintly see Chicos scurrying away from the living room into Kaiba's bedroom, and, surprisingly, she didn't even return at the smell of Kaiba reheating the dish his chef had left for him earlier. Chicos was quite the little glutton, and she loved gourmet food more than the specially formulated cat food Kaiba was trying to get her interested in. Kaiba had gotten a cat because he thought it would be low maintenance compared to a dog, but Chicos was quickly proving him wrong. He had to please Mokuba, though, or else he would never stop nagging at Kaiba.

"Oh, come on, Kaiba. Are you really going to tell me you can't make your own food?" Jounouchi clicked his tongue. "I know you're super rich, but you can't be _that_ bad."

"It's not a matter of whether I can or can't cook my own meals," Kaiba argued, setting down a plate of black truffle risotto and roasted chicken breast, according to the label his chef had left. "It's whether or not I want to expend my time and energy making my own meals. I've decided that I'd rather not."

"Well," Jounouchi said after shoving a heaping spoonful of food into his mouth, "I guess if you have the money to burn, you might as well keep feeding the fire with more of it. This stuff is pretty damn good, too."

It was strangely comforting to see that Jounouchi was as disgustingly ravenous when it came to food as ever. Perhaps some things really never changed.

Mindlessly, Kaiba poured the two of them a glass of Insignia each. If Jounouchi noticed that Kaiba had poured them a slip more than a standard glass, he said nothing.

"You're even serving me classy red wine, too? It's almost like this is a real date. It's one of those late dinners, too. Don't tell me you were a huge asshole to me all those years ago because you secretly liked me, but you didn't know how to tell me until there was alcohol involved," Jounouchi teased.

This time, Kaiba was the one rolling his eyes. "Don't think so highly of yourself, deadbeat. It goes well with the meal." He took a deep swig of his wine, held it on his tongue, and then swallowed. Jounouchi followed suit, except he was apparently more prone to quick gulps over savoring the taste. Kaiba couldn't say he was surprised.

It _was_ delicious, though. Charmagne always made fantastic dishes. If not, Kaiba never would've let her set foot in his penthouse. For some time, the two of them ate in silence with only the sound of clinking cutlery between them. Once their plates were near cleared, however, Kaiba spoke again.

"Now that we're in a private place, not to mention now that I've fed you, are you going to tell me what you need to help your family with this time?"

Jounouchi took another sip of his drink, slower this time. A clear ploy to buy himself more time, but Kaiba allowed it. Jounouchi was going to have to tel him eventually. Kaiba could wait.

Jounouchi set his glass down quietly and pushed his empty plate to the side. "We're not rich like you, Kaiba. When financial troubles come around, we can't just keep doing what we're doing, and the whole thing will sort itself out. We have to hop off our poor asses and hustle."

"And what exactly does that mean?" Kaiba asked.

"The money I get from winning Duel Monsters tournaments aren't the big bucks, but they're enough for me to get by and even keep some stashed away in savings if I'm cheap enough," Jounouchi explained. "But then my dad's debts started catching up to him, and my mom get laid off and had to then settle for a much lower-paying job, so paying for my sister's college tuition became difficult, much less even just handling basic living expenses.

"Besides, Shizuka wants to study abroad, which is even more expensive, but she's been through so much already that she deserves every damn thing I can give her. So, I picked up this annoying maid job to help them out, and a lot of my savings has gone to help them out." Jounouchi's voice was tired, and his eyes a little dull.

"I thought you didn't have much contact with your mother after your parents divorced," Kaiba said.

"Yeah, but she's still my mother, and she's been taking care of Shizuka this whole time. I can't just leave her out to dry without doing something."

"And your father is in debt?"

Jounouchi sighed again before he finished off the rest of his drink. He reached out to the wine bottle Kaiba left to the side, and Kaiba was tempted to stop him, but, the flick of Jounouchi's wrist as he poured himself another glass was nice to watch. "Yeah. I don't know if you heard the rumors in high school about my dad having a drinking problem, but, well, they were pretty much true."

Kaiba poured himself another glass, too. "I thought you said you weren't being forced into working that job."

Jounouchi snorted ungracefully, accidentally jostling his glass and causing a few drops to fly out. The red liquid hit Jounouchi's arm and glowed enticingly against his golden skin. "I'm not. My dad never took money from anyone shady or anything, so it's not like someone is holding me hostage and forcing me to sell my body in a maid outfit against my will. These loans came straight from the bank."

"If those rumors were true, I'm surprised the bank lent your dad any money."

Jounouchi laughed again humorlessly. "You're telling me. I think it was because they knew I was around, though, and felt bad, despite how absolute shit his credit score is. My dad also did have a job, though it doesn't pay all that well, and his debt is made all the worse that _two_ banks were dumb enough to give him money."

"So you've decided to work that humiliating job to help your alcoholic father with his money issues," Kaiba finished.

"Don't say it like that," Jounouchi growled, sending a glare Kaiba's way. His eyes swirled red from the reflection of the wine bouncing off of them. "My dad's a _former_ alcoholic now. He has his coin and everything. Besides, even if he wasn't the best dad growing up, he was still my dad."

Suddenly, like the sun setting beneath the horizon, Jounouchi's gaze turned into something far-off and unknown. "There was this one week where we were really strapped for cash after a really bad bout of boozing by my dad to the point where we could barely afford any food. So, my dad decided that all of the food that we were able to manage would all go to me, while he went and starved himself."

Jounouchi breathed out a heavy sigh. "But then he went and got himself landed in the hospital for malnutrition, which added even more to our expenses. He was a shitty caretaker, but he wasn't such a bad father. When he found out that I had been hanging with a gang for a bit, he yelled at me until he was red in the face before crying about how he failed me and all that. So, at the end of the day, I know he loved me. He wasn't like your-" Jounouchi cut himself abruptly as his eyes quickly focused back on Kaiba before he shifted his gaze down at the table.

"Wasn't like my what?" Kaiba asked quietly. The words shot of his mouth like a narrow stream of high-tension air aimed to kill. "Like _my_ father?" Kaiba downed the rest of his glass in a single gulp. He could feel an excess stream of wine leak out from the corner of his mouth, but he paid it no attention. "Don't you ever say that again."

"Kaiba, I'm-"

"Gozaburo was _never_ my father," Kaiba hissed. Jounouchi looked up at him with a guarded expression, and it was only then that Kaiba realized that he had stood up.

"I'm sorry," Jounouchi whispered. His glass was also just about empty.

"And, considering how your father had an alcohol abuse problem, I'm surprised to see that you drink it so freely," Kaiba growled, leaning forward across the table to match his eyes to Jounouchi's. "Doesn't alcohol abuse run in the family? I wouldn't be surprised to see you like him a couple of years from now: a sad excuse of a person."

For a moment, Jounouchi seemed flustered. His face went through a range of emotion in the span of a few seconds, and Kaiba could've sworn that it would eventually settle on blinding rage; fists would fly, fangs would be bared, the table would shudder, and the glasses and plates on the table would splinter apart to make way for the rage. Kaiba would never see Jounouchi again because Kaiba only knew how to push, tear, and rend, and Jounouchi was too simple, the type to snap under the barest hint of pressure. That was how Kaiba expected it to end because that was had they had always been, and, suddenly, as if these past few weeks had never happened, his life would be quid pro quo once more. The only way there were good together was not at all.

Jounouchi didn't snap, like Kaiba had anticipated, but there was a dangerous bend. Jounouchi finished his drink and slammed his glass down so hard that it shattered at the impact, crumbling from the bottom up until the only pieces left intact was the rim of the glass left behind in Jounouchi's hand. He doesn't even flinch, though Kaiba spotted a few slow trickles of blood creep out from under his palm.

Then, inconceivably, Jounouchi's face smoothed into a look exhausted amusement. "You're a _fucking_ asshole, but you're not wrong. But I feel like I, too, deserve something after everything, and, if it all goes wrong, I know someone'll be there to help me out of it." Jounouchi finished the rest of his glass and fixed his eyes back upwards. "Maybe I'm being selfish, but I'm too fucking tired to be anything else."

"You've alway been selfish," Kaiba whispered. He hoped his shock wasn't bleeding out of his words.

Jounouchi simply laughed. "I guess so, but you're also a self-centered asshole, aren't you? Maybe that's why we never got along before; we never had enough room for one another in either of our greedy little worlds."

Despite the situation having never escalated, Kaiba was still ready for a fight. His body was tensed, his fists clenched, his jaw tight, and he couldn't see anything besides the honey gold creature with red wine stained lips in front of him. As much as Kaiba mentally willed his body to relax, all of his motor neurons were still in overdrive and on the edge of firing. Something needed to happen or his body would crack apart and leave nothing of him behind in the aftermath.

His body was sprung, and it chose to release the pressure on Jounouchi.

Kaiba leapt across the table and dragged Jounouchi towards himself. Glasses and plates shifted precariously around them, and Kaiba faintly heard a crash to his left.

None of that mattered, though. All that Kaiba could focus on was Jounouchi's warm skin under his grip and relenting lips under his own. They stumbled together up the stairs and never parted until Kaiba pushed Jounouchi harshly onto his bed, face-down. Before Jounouchi could adjust himself into a more comfortable position, Kaiba set upon him once again, tearing away at Jounouchi's clothes before undressing himself.

Jounouchi struggled against Kaiba for a spell, snapping his legs and arms out to quell the onslaught, and only settled down after Kaiba's hold over the back of his neck took a turn towards brutal as he pushed Jounouchi down into the mattress and forced Jounouchi's hips up. There were no words exchanged between them as Kaiba prepped Jounouchi with a sudden pop of a cap from under Kaiba's teeth. Kaiba couldn't remember a time when he had been so desperate, but the feeling was strangely more freeing than frightening. Jounouchi pushed himself back into Kaiba's hand as far as he could, and Kaiba pushed himself forward in turn.

Jounouchi's ass wasn't anything particularly special, in all honesty; it was slight and boney, but it still had just enough firm muscle to plump it up that the feeling of it pressed up against Kaiba's skin was more than pleasant enough. The sight of strained and shaking Jounouchi's legs, too, as the only appendages Jounouchi could use to keep himself upright, was also great to behold.

Against his white sheets, Kaiba could see a few blooms of red, and he momentarily wondered if he had been too rough with the preparations, and Jounouchi had been too prideful and stubborn to say anything. However, there were no bloody tracks running down Jounouchi's thighs, and the location of the blood didn't match up. Abruptly, Kaiba recalled the shattered cup.

"Jounouchi," Kaiba muttered. He had to keep his voice to a hoarse whisper or else he wouldn't be able to contain himself long enough to form proper sentences. "Are you ok? Your hand."

Jounouchi groaned in displeasure as Kaiba drew away from him. "It's fine, it's just a few scratches. I've had worse. There isn't even any glass stuck in my hand or anything."

Kaiba was too gone to care anymore.

As much as he hated it, Kaiba had to release his hold on Jounouchi in order to rip open the condom package and hastily roll it on. To Kaiba's heady satisfaction, though, Jounouchi willfully remained in position without a single glance back.

Everything was moving so quickly, and Kaiba couldn't tell whether or not time was actually just that fast, or if he was pushing too much, but, after he pushed himself into Jounouchi, Kaiba decided that it was too much effort to think about it. Instead, Kaiba let himself sink into the sensations of Jounouchi underneath him, against him, and around him, with the sounds of Jounouchi's breathy moans gusting through his ears.

Kaiba could feel his orgasm approaching embarrassingly fast. His thrusts grew more frantic in time with Jounouchi's increasingly fervent groans, and, as their wanting built even further, Jounouchi blindly reached back for Kaiba's head to pull him into a bruising kiss. Their teeth crashed together violently, and Kaiba was sure that he even tasted a teasing hint of blood between them, but his incoming orgasm made it impossible for him to think about anything except the feel of Jounouchi.

They lay beside each other for some time in silence, save the heavy gasps of air they were both trying to force down their lungs. Then, Kaiba slowly skulked out to fetch a wet towel and a few bandages only to return to the sight of Jounouchi dozed off on his bed with Chicos curled up next to him.

Chicos mewled innocently as Kaiba approached. She kneaded the bed next to Jounouchi smoothly, big blue eyes fixed on Kaiba, before curling around and settling herself into the space she made.

Jounouchi didn't stir at all until Kaiba knelt down to wrap up Jounouchi's hand. At least Jounouchi had been telling the truth when he said that the wounds weren't cause for any real concern.

"Kaiba?" Jounouchi murmured sleepily. "Sorry, I must've fallen asleep." He looked down at Kaiba's attempt at first aid. "Thanks for that."

Kaiba shrugged dismissively. "It's fine, though my housekeepers are probably going to be annoyed with the blood stains and broken dishes."

"I can help clean some of the stuff up," Jounouchi said.

"It's fine. I pay them to clean, so it's not as if cleaning something is a huge burden for them."

Jounouchi, after finally noticing Chicos pressed up against his side, gave her a few tentative pets before releasing a tired sigh. "Well, I guess I should go then."

Kaiba didn't know what was going through his own mind. The post-coital haze was probably still haunting him. "You don't have to go. It's late."

Jounouchi paused, his hand resting gently over Chicos' slumbering body. "You want me to stay the night?"

"You don't have to," Kaiba repeated.

Jounouchi stilled for a moment before he turned back to Kaiba with a sly grin and foxy gaze. "Well, if you insist, how can I turn that down? My back's been hurting from my shitty mattress these past few days."

Kaiba quickly rummaged through his drawers to throw a pair of boxers Jounouchi's way, but Jounouchi refused with a wily grin. "I don't need it. I sleep in the nude."

"I don't want Chicos sleeping next to your naked body," Kaiba argued.

Jounouchi laughed hoarsely before he slipped on the boxers. They hung loosely off his hips, but Jounouchi didn't seem to mind as he slipped into bed, purposively settling down over the bloodstain. Kaiba wasn't about to argue.

Kaiba had never slept with another person in his bed besides Mokuba, and that was years ago. He didn't like people being in his space when he was in a vulnerable position. Anyone he had ever slept with were sent away almost immediately afterwards. He had had enough of that already.

Despite that, it was worryingly easy for Kaiba to fall asleep with Jounouchi's warmth emanating towards him, punctuated by Chicos' soft purrs. From behind his eyelids, Kaiba saw flashes of gold before he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope everyone seems in character??


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Jounouchi had hopped out of Kaiba's bed with a flick of his wrist, pulling on his old clothes with a haphazard grin, as if the damage in the kitchen didn't exist, as if he hadn't begun to bleed through his bandages. He threw a breezy 'see ya later!' Kaiba's way as he all but flung himself out of the place after telling Kaiba about how he had to leave early to change before his brunch with Yugi. Otherwise, it would've been too embarrassing to show up in front of his long-time friend while so shamelessly strutting around down 'the walk of shame'.

"You know, I actually hate brunch," Jounouchi had explained, unbidden. "The whole thing is too bougie for me, especially places that are 'famous' for their brunch. You can almost always get the exact same things those fancy places serve at the local hole-in-the-wall diner owned by ma and pa, and they also give a much bigger portion of better tasting food. Brunch is a scam, I tell you, but Yugi likes the _experience_ , or whatever. You're probably an even snootier brunch person, now that I think about it."

"Brunch is a waste of time," Kaiba responded, arms crossed as he watched Jounouchi hastily comb through his hair with his fingers. Despite how thick it was, which Kaiba now knew first-hand, Jounouchi's hair didn't seem to tangle much. Kaiba supposed that was good for Jounouchi, considering how much he loved having his hair pulled. "Anyway, that sounds exactly like the café you work at. The coffee is disgusting, yet also expensive, and the establishment itself is unbearable to be in for more than half and hour with how horrible the décor is."

Jounouchi laughed, flicking the water off of his fingers. Casually. Kaiba didn't remember Jounouchi being so... casual. "Well, I guess the 'experience' makes up for it. Is that why you've been visiting so much? You actually enjoy the whole thing?"

"I wouldn't consider two visits especially frequent," Kaiba bit off in response.

Jounouchi's last residual laugh tumbled off his lips, so fast that Kaiba couldn't even blink before it crashed. "You don't have to be shy," Jounouchi cooed. "If you really want me to, I can bring the outfit with me, and I can dress up for you."

Kaiba bit his tongue until the cloying taste of breaching metal calmed his teeth. "I didn't think you would be so willing to humiliate yourself like that, deadbeat. Did you actually enjoy dressing up in that hideous dog suit?"

"Hey, I'm not a furry," Jounouchi argued, stepping out of the bathroom. "I have just come to appreciate the freedom and ease that comes with a dress. Also, the outfit makes my legs look fucking amazing. You agree, don't you?"

At least Jounouchi was somewhat self-aware now.

Soon afterwards, Jounouchi had spirited himself away out of Kaiba's penthouse, leaving behind creased sheets, splatters of water across Kaiba's bedroom bathroom, and a mess of glass and disjointed streaks of blood mingled with dried red wine in his kitchen.

Everything associated with Jounouchi was a huge hurricane of a mess, but Kaiba still had Jounouchi's number saved in his phone and hidden away in the back of his bedroom drawer.

Throughout the next few days, Kaiba didn't think about Jounouchi except for the moments when Jounouchi's presence would suddenly rip its way into Kaiba's thoughts with the ferocity of a rampaging storm. At least Kaiba was beginning to get used to it. He had tried to fight it for awhile, but, after deciding that there was no point in futile resistance, he allowed the thoughts to come. They came in snippets, like a broken reel from an old camera, and Kaiba wasn't able to make much sense of them save for the honey gold hue that they left behind his eyelids.

Old memories, too, snuck through his mind in fragments torn apart from time. Scenes from a time that was much more chaotic, yet strangely simple, occupied Kaiba's mind in moments of quiet. If he tried hard enough, perhaps he would be able to grab and sew together a few of the pieces into a whole picture. Except, Kaiba wasn't sure if he wanted to see the finished product.

For the first time in his life, Kaiba felt nostalgic. He had never encountered nostalgia before, considering there wasn't much in his past that he craved to have once more, but, if he let his mind wonder too much, the roaring desire to face _him_ again would return.

Kaiba hated it when that happened, so he let the moments flit through his thoughts without a care to keep them close or hold them down.

Unfortunately, one annoying figure from his past was impossible to avoid. Pegasus was as infuriating as ever, though he had agreed to meet at Kaiba's company building instead, though he complained about it the whole way through, as per usual.

"Kaiba," Pegasus lamented, gesturing at the walls of the conference room, " _please_ , this scenery is simply too depressing. How can you ever get your creative juices flowing in such a bland place?"

"I focus on my desire to maintain Kaiba Corp's status as one of the highest-ranking companies in the world as opposed to depending on my 'creative juices' to get the job done," Kaiba deadpanned.

He stared down at a few of the plans they had gone over together. Pegasus seemed receptive towards the idea of digitizing Duel Monsters, but he also was worried about how doing so might depreciate the value of some of the rarer cards that were highly sought after do to the fact that only a few of them existed. Specifically, it was difficult to predict how tradability of digital forms of cards might affect their value.

Kaiba, too, wasn't yet sure how to best control this new digital market. He sighed, shuffling the papers into a pile together. It would probably take a few more years until the new dueling system could be put onto the market.

"By the way, Kaiba," Pegasus drawled, and Kaiba was already annoying with what Pegasus was about to say, "I saw you at Jounouchi's duel the other day. I'm fairly certain that that was the first time I've seen you at one of Jounouchi's duels, though Mokuba seems to thoroughly enjoy them. In fact, it was probably one of the first times you've watched a professional duel since you unofficially retired a few years ago."

Kaiba resisted the urge to snap the pen within his grip. Kaiba wanted to demand that Pegasus keep Mokuba's name out of his mouth considering all that he had put Mokuba through. However, Mokuba periodically relayed stories of Pegasus' newfound kindness, so Kaiba supposed that Pegasus had actually become a halfway decent human being over the past few years. Besides, it would be annoying to have to clean out the ink stains, even if his shirt was dark. "Stop dawdling and just say what you want to say. I don't have time to listen to you skirt around whatever point you're trying to make."

Pegasus chuckled, unruffled. "You're always so impatient, Kaiba. That pressing sense of urgency you apply to just about all aspects of your life may have served you well thus far, but I hope you don't think it's going to keep you going indefinitely. Even you are just a normal person."

Kaiba scoffed as he rose from his seat. Kaiba refused to let Pegasus lecture Kaiba, as if he was in the position to do so.

"Wait, Kaiba," Pegasus called, "I just wanted to ask you what inspired you to go watch Jounouchi's duel. I've invited you many a time in the past, but you never seemed to care then."

"Does it matter?" Kaiba asked.

"Maybe not, but I would still like to know."

Kaiba sighed. He knew all about Pegasus' willfulness. He had had to deal with it an infuriating amount of times in the past, after all. Pegasus was like a child; if he didn't get what he wanted, he was prone to fits and tantrums, even going as far as withdrawing potential collaborative business efforts to sway Kaiba his way. It was exhausting, but Kaiba usually had to play along.

So, Kaiba reluctantly turned to face Pegasus again. "I thought I would accompany Mokuba. He's been asking me to join him for ages now, and I was getting tired of his whining. At least he's nowhere near as bad as you."

Once again, Pegasus remained unperturbed. In fact, he had an infuriatingly self-satisfied smirk on his face that Kaiba would have loved to never have to see again. "Is that so? Well, what did you think? I gave Jounouchi a few extra cards to help boost his deck, which Jounouchi has adapted to using quite quickly. As his sponsor, it benefits me, too, if he does well in his duels."

"That's because you practically designed them just for his deck," Kaiba argued.

Pegasus shrugged. "Is that so bad? I think watching Jounouchi duel is so entertaining, don't you agree?"

"I think he's as bad and half-assed as he's always been. I noticed that, even with your new cards, he still relies on his luck with those ridiculous dice cards, as opposed to using actual skill."

"But isn't that exactly what makes it so entertaining? Not to mention that look in his eyes he gets when he's really getting into the duel."

Kaiba stilled his breathing so he wouldn't accidentally give himself away. He didn't want to think about Jounouchi's golden eyes in front of Pegasus. As much as Kaiba hated to admit it, Pegasus was surprisingly perceptive. The pressure in his chest helped distract Kaiba away from his thoughts. "Regardless, I'm surprised that you're letting Jounouchi run wild and work at a maid café while you're sponsoring him. What if he were to be discovered by people who regularly view his duels?"

"Do you really think people care about something like that?" Pegasus asked. "In fact, I think it might make him even more popular with some people if they were to discover his job. He looks quite nice in that dress, after all."

Kaiba scoffed aggressively to hide the fact that he was imagining Jounouchi's thighs peeking out from under the bottom of the dress, muscles accentuated by those black heels. "Still, I'm certain you could've easily helped him with his family issues if you wanted to."

Pegasus laughed. " _Please_ , Kaiba. You know that it's not a matter if _I_ want to help him. It's a matter of whether or not _Jounouchi_ is willing to accept my help. As you well know, he definitely is not and probably never will be. The boy is even more stubborn than you."

Kaiba gritted his teeth.

"Besides," Pegasus continued as he, too, stood up and began to make his way out of the room, "I was under the impression that Jounouchi already had someone helping him out with his financial issues. A presumably well-off older gentleman, in fact."

Kaiba paused, debated with himself about whether or not he truly wanted to ask for more information, and, somehow, lost. "A well-off older gentleman?" Kaiba repeated slowly.

"Oh, yes," Pegasus stepped towards Kaiba with enough vigor behind the sway of his hips so that the end of his hair flitted annoyingly against his shoulder. It smelled so intensely of flowered linens that it made Kaiba sick. "I've seen him hovering around Jounouchi several times. He always seemed quite taken by Jounouchi and loved to lavish him with gifts and the like."

"What's his name?" Kaiba asked.

Pegasus chuckled with glee as he sidestepped past Kaiba into the doorway. "Now, now, Kaiba. I don't think that it's my place to tell you that. Maybe you should go watch another one of Jounouchi's duels so you can ask him about it afterwards. Or..." he paused, sending Kaiba a sly look over his shoulder. Even knowing that that accursed Millennium Eye was no longer nestled in Pegasus' eye socket, Kaiba still felt his hackles rise. "Maybe you should go visit _Junko_ again, if you're that impatient."

Kaiba was tired of people spoon-feeding him teasing bits of information before violently it away, all while keeping it just out of his reach. Furthermore, he still refused to contact Jounouchi by phone. Even a few hastily typed lines felt like too much, even as the image Pegasus' pompous grin plagued him. So, Kaiba eventually ended up watching Jounouchi's next duel in the professional circuit alongside Mokuba a few days later. Infuriatingly, Pegasus didn't seem very surprised to see him there.

It was only the preliminary round, so even Jounouchi's subpar dueling skills were able to feign magnificence in comparison to his bumbling opponent. Mokuba ultimately left early to finish his work on a school project, courtesy of Kaiba's continual badgering in the face of Mokuba's annoyance, which left Kaiba to venture to the back by himself. No one stopped him; he was Seto Kaiba, after all.

"I told you not to come see me in public!" Jounouchi's voice rang out through the hallway. "If you want to meet up, you're going to have a set up a time."

Kaiba rounded the corner slowly, steps silent. He could see the back of Jounouchi's head, punctuated with his usual ratty mess of hair. In front of him, Kaiba spotted what, for all intents and purposes, looked to be a 'well-off older gentleman'. Despite the signs of age etched across his face, the man was undeniably attractive; he had a nice expression, features that all blended together seamlessly, and an impressive physique. Inexplicably, hostility rose and rushed over Kaiba's senses; he didn't like this man. His soft expression was surely painted on his face to hide his underlying smugness. Kaiba bit his cheek until the taste of blood grew too sour for his tongue.

"Jounouchi, please," the man pleaded gently, raising hand to rest again Jounouchi's arm. Jounouchi promptly flinched away as he pushed the other man's hand away. The stranger's expression saddened, but he seemed otherwise unperturbed. "I don't understand why you're being like this."

"Does it matter why?" Jounouchi demanded. "Can't you just respect my wishes?"

The older man was about to speak again before Kaiba felt a hand rest on his own arm. He turned quickly, body ready and tensed, only to be faced with, not only Pegasus, but also Yugi and Honda lingering behind him. Kaiba almost groaned at the sight. His face must've given him away, despite holding his verbal displeasure back, because Honda shot him a disgruntled look as Yugi smiled sheepishly beside him.

"Kaiba, what are you doing skulking here like some common criminal?" Pegasus asked loudly. Kaiba couldn't see Jounouchi or the other man anymore, now that his vision was obscured by the turn in the wall, but he assumed that the hurried footsteps moving away from them was a sign that the stranger had left. "Are you lost?"

Kaiba scoffed, wrenching himself out of Pegasus' grasp. "Of course not."

Pegasus opened his mouth, no doubt preparing to interrogate Kaiba to his sly heart's desire, but Yugi jumped into the conversation instead. "I haven't seen you at a dueling tournament in years, Kaiba. Are you thinking about getting back into professional dueling?"

"What's the point?" Kaiba sneered. "None of these sad excuses for a duelist are worth my time."

"Is it because Yugi's not dueling anymore?" Honda asked. Kaiba hadn't seen Honda in quite some, save for a professional headshot of him once his team started debating whether or not he would be a good addition to Kaiba Corporation's engineering team, and he actually looked mildly decent. He hadn't stayed as lean as Jounouchi and was instead a bit bulkier now. Still, Honda's face was as uninspiring as ever, particularly his eyes. They were dull with nothing behind them that interested Kaiba in the slightest. Forgettable. 

"I bet if Yugi were still playing, you would go and design your own convoluted tournament again to rope him into dueling you," Honda continued with a scoff and roll of his eyes that Kaiba very much did not appreciate. He would have to re-evaluate exactly how mechanically skilled Honda actually was. "You practically own Domino City, after all."

Kaiba wouldn't be the first to disagree, but even if Yugi were active, even if there was someone out there who could pose a decent threat, it wasn't the same. None of them would ever come close to _him_.

He shook his head instead. "I'm too busy to be playing around now. If someone who could actually be the slightest bit challenging to duel was available, I might search him out, but I don't have the time to think about entertaining any of these half-assed duelists, much less create another tournament for them to flounder through." Unconsciously, Kaiba shot Yugi a sidelong glance.

Yugi, too, shook his head. "I'm still retired, unfortunately. I don't know if I'll ever really get back into dueling. My heart's just not in it anymore, I guess."

Kaiba understood. His wasn't either. With him gone, Kaiba just didn't care anymore.

Surprisingly, it took Jounouchi until just then to finally notice them. As he rounded the corner, eyes fixed distractedly over his shoulder on something behind with such rapt attention that Kaiba, for just a moment, blazed with jealousy, Jounouchi nearly collided into Yugi until Kaiba shot his hand out, stopping Jounouchi short. Shocked, Jounouchi turned and blinked at Kaiba. His eyes were wide, and the amber within seemed to sway with the movement of Jounouchi's head.

Then, as recognition hit, Jounouchi's eyes settled. "What are _you_ doing here?" Slowly, Jounouchi noticed the rest of them. Drawing himself out of Kaiba's grip, he was assaulted by happy cheers and congratulations from Yugi and Honda even though, in Kaiba's opinion, a victory against such an unimpressive duelist was no cause for celebration.

As he rolled his eyes, Kaiba caught Pegasus staring at him with that signature arrogance that never failed to annoy Kaiba. After seeing that same self-satisfied look on Gozaburo's face for so many years, Kaiba never wanted to have to see it again.

"Well, Kaiba," Pegasus began, "it seems like those three will be busy talking to each other for awhile, so why don't we go and discuss a few things until they're done?"

Kaiba was on the edge of refusing until he saw the look in Pegasus' eyes: his typical conniving expression, but, this time, Kaiba noticed an invitation as opposed to opposition. Begrudgingly, Kaiba left Jounouchi and the others behind in favor of following Pegasus into an empty waiting room.

Pegasus closed the door behind them with a loud click before whirling around, face beaming. "Finally, Kaiba, I have you all to myself. I hope you're as excited as I am."

Kaiba rolled his eyes, seating himself in one of the cold foldable chairs with a huff. Even though Pegasus loved to bat his eyelashes and twirl his hair in front of Kaiba, he knew it was all part of Pegasus' overarching scheme to make himself appear less threatening than he actually was. Besides, Kaiba knew all about Pegasus' long-lost love; there was nothing for him to be concerned about. "What did you bring me here for?"

Pegasus sighed at the abrupt end of his little charade. "Did you see him?"

"Of course I saw Jounouchi. I still have both of my eyes, and I'm not stupid."

Pegasus scowled. "I meant the other person with him."

"If by _him_ you mean that 'well-off older gentleman' you mentioned before, then I most likely did," Kaiba answered. "The deadbeat didn't seem pleased to see him."

"And did that please you?" Pegasus asked coyly.

Kaiba's only response was a cold glare Pegasus' direction.

Pegasus huffed again. "Come on, Kaiba, you're never any fun. No matter, though. I just wanted to ask you what you thought of him."

"I didn't think anything of him," Kaiba answered curtly, swinging his leg over his knee and his arms across his chest. "He was your typical old man who obviously thought too highly of himself."

"Oh?" Pegasus wandered aloud, slowly stepping towards Kaiba. "Really? I think he looks quite fetching for his age. He's also the CEO of his own major company, so he's not exactly your average elderly man wreaking havoc on the streets because he drives too slowly. In fact, I would go so far as to claim that he's quite the catch, if he's your type."

"A CEO of a major company, huh? What company is he associated with?"

"I can't tell you that Kaiba," Pegasus drawled, sitting down across from Kaiba. "I already told you that I couldn't. If you really want to know, you should ask Jounouchi yourself. Or are you too much of a coward to do so?"

Just as he was about to snarl his way through the unpleasant surge of emotions rushing through his mind, the door burst open as Jounouchi, Yugi, and Honda filed in.

"What're you two doing in here?" Jounouchi asked.

"Oh, I just had to ask Kaiba some business-related questions, and I thought that it would be convenient to do so here, considering I also wanted to congratulate you on your victory today." Pegasus rose from his seat gracefully, setting a heavy hand on Jounouchi's shoulder.

"It wasn't a hard duel at all, and you know it," Jounouchi grumbled, brushing Pegasus' hand away. "That guy was barely better than an amateur." He looked pleased nonetheless.

Afterwards, there was a flurry of movement as Pegasus finally left, escorted by his bodyguards, and Yugi and Honda spent a few more minutes talking to Jounouchi before they, too, left to return back to their own lives.

"And then there were two," Jounouchi muttered after he finished packing up his belongings. "I didn't think I'd see you here once, much less again today." He crossed his arms across his body loosely as he tilted his hips so he could lean against the wall with a light cock of his head. "Are you going to offer me dinner again?"

"If you're hungry," Kaiba responded.

"I'm always hungry. You know that."

 

* * *

 

This time, dinner went by much more smoothly. Charmagne's cooking was as delicious as ever, and the booze, a fine Cabernet Sauvignon this time, did not end up becoming a huge point of contention between them that Jounouchi had to single-handedly diffuse with an effortlessness that left Kaiba wanting. Kaiba's dishes and silverware remained undamaged, and the two of them were unharmed through the process.

The amicable air between them didn't feel as foreign as Kaiba had expected.

"So," Jounouchi began, flopping himself down onto Jounouchi's couch carelessly, "why did you invite me over this time?"

Kaiba walked over to Jounouchi quietly, standing over him.

"Come on, Kaiba," Jounouchi said again, voice cool and coaxing, "go ahead and tell me. I promise that I'll at least _try_ to not get mad."

"Who was that man you were arguing with earlier today after your duel?"

Jounouchi's eyes, heavy-lidded with lax curiousness, grew thicker with wariness. The look almost reminds Kaiba of Chicos when she watches Kaiba walk around the bottom floor from her perch at the top of the stairs: with an air of casual nonchalance weighed down by apprehension wrought from suspicious wonder.

Perhaps Jounouchi's wild nature was less that of an impetuous dog, and more akin to the attitude of a flighty street cat, claws at the ready. 

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jounouchi eventually mumbled.

People around him always assumed that Kaiba was so disinterested in other people that he was incapable of understanding others. In actuality, Kaiba noticed a lot. He just didn't care enough to respond to it.

For example, Kaiba noticed clearly the shutter of Jounouchi's eyelashes, and the slight jerk of his shoulders, at Kaiba's question, followed by the shaky breath that followed behind Jounouchi's words. It was all fairly obvious to Kaiba.

"Don't lie," Kaiba retorted. "You're horrible at it."

Jounouchi let out a heavy huff before he slowly rose, body slinking upward in a single, fluid motion. Without a word, he approached Kaiba and tilted his head up, nestling his lips against Kaiba's neck. Having someone so close to his jugular made him freeze and his breath hitched uncontrollably, but the thrill that approached in parallel arrested his thought and kept him still, under Jounouchi's grip.

"Is that really what you brought me here for?" Jounouchi whispered. His breath flowed over Kaiba's skin in a warm gust, and his eyelashes flickered on and off teasingly. "You're still a huge control freak, I see."

"And you're still the type to try to play games with others even though you clearly don't know the rules," Kaiba turned his head slightly towards Jounouchi's, " _I see_. You're still laughably bad at hiding anything about yourself, even though you've been trying quite hard. You're too careless."

Jounouchi pulled back to force Kaiba's gaze on his own. "Then let's stop trying to play this game and do something else."

The wine from earlier, still warm as it slowly made its way through his body, coupled with Jounouchi's molten melting eyes, was too much for Kaiba to resist. Kaiba burned with desperate curiosity regarding that mystery man Jounouchi was with earlier; the stranger had garnered Pegasus' attention, which was hard to do and never a good thing, in Kaiba's opinion.

Nonetheless, Kaiba let himself be lead away at Jounouchi's insistence because that was the easy thing to do, and, sometimes, even Kaiba wanted to take the easy route. Jounouchi's bright, gold eyes made his decision all the more compelling.

By the time they stumbled into Kaiba's room, which Chicos quickly evacuated after studying the two of them with a wide curious gaze, Jounouchi's shirt had already disappeared somewhere on the stairs. Kaiba's shirt, too, was easily removed, and moments after they landed on Kaiba's bed in a tangled heap of limbs and heavy kisses, they were both naked save the generous pool of lube slipping down his fingers.

"I gotta admit," Jounouchi began before he was interrupted by a guttural moan, "that I kinda like that cold efficiency of yours. I actually can't really stand it when one-night stands start getting all sentimental before the post-orgasm haze has even set it, as if I have time for that." He spread his legs easily for Kaiba, leaving himself prone to Kaiba's ministrations. Jounouchi even _almost_ suppressed his smirk as Kaiba pulled Jounouchi's calves over his shoulders.

"At least there's one thing that we can agree on," Kaiba muttered as he began preparing Jounouchi with the now warm lube.

"I can't imagine anyone trying to cozy up to you, though, even in bed." Jounouchi sucked in a shuddering breath as Kaiba slid in a third finger. Jounouchi was warm and opened around Kaiba with little resistance, which, coupled with the gentle shivering of Jounouchi's long legs from pleasure, was much more pleasing to Kaiba than he would ever like to admit.

"I think I'm quite lovable. Who wouldn't want to sweet-talk and spoon with me when they have the chance?" Kaiba deadpanned, sarcasm dripping from his lips almost as intensely as the lube down the small of Jounouchi's lower back.

Jounouchi's resulting laugh was soon replaced by a low groan when Kaiba slid himself into Jounouchi in a long, slow thrust. His legs tightened around Kaiba's shoulders even further to pull Kaiba closer to himself, and the words between them stilled in favor of breathy moans in-between desperate kisses and licks. Jounouchi's long, tense neck was almost, if not just as, enticing as his smooth, lean legs.

While Jounouchi was already one of Kaiba's most frequent bed partners over the course of his entire life, Kaiba was still surprised by how much he had already learned about Jounouchi's body and erogenous zones; a nice, firm grip on Jounouchi's hair quickly had the other rolling his eyes with pleasure, and, while Kaiba didn't have access to the back of Jounouchi's neck in their current position, Kaiba was certain that keeping a hold of Jounouchi there, too, would've also pleased Jounouchi immensely.

Still, Kaiba did what he could. He jerked his hand back a touch, pulling Jounouchi's hair with it, and Jounouchi released a heady mewl at the motion, all while running his palms down Kaiba's chest and over his broad shoulders reverently. Jounouchi gave Kaiba's nipples plenty of attention, applying just the right amount of pinching and pressure, which Kaiba enjoyed greatly; many of his other partners were either obnoxiously interested in pleasing Kaiba in a ploy to garner his affection, or they completely disregarded him in favor of their own needs. Jounouchi's sincere, gentle ministrations felt much better than Kaiba expected.

The creaking of Kaiba's headboard grew higher and faster in time with Kaiba's thrusts, and, soon enough, Kaiba was coming with a barely bitten back groan. Jounouchi's orgasm followed quickly, and, even in his haze of pleasure, Kaiba was completely taken by the sliver of gold that shone through Jounouchi's half-lidded gaze.

The two of them lay together in silence for longer than Kaiba ever remembered staying with a partner. Jounouchi's breath was quiet, yet strangely soothing. Their bodies only just touched, with Kaiba's fingertips grazing Jounouchi's side, but the warmth emanating from the other body beside him felt like it could engulf Kaiba whole.

Suddenly, as if he were intimately familiar with the place after exploring through its walls countless times, Jounouchi himself rose and headed into the bathroom to clean himself off before returning. He settled back onto the bed carefully, sparing Kaiba a glance once he fixed himself a spot.

Kaiba had no clue what his expression looked like, but it must've been sweeter than he'd thought. Jounouchi leaned in to kiss Kaiba, and the experience was far more gentle than he'd ever thought he and Jounouchi could possibly share. Past memories of heated arguments, broken glass, and derisive stares all dissolved away in that moment.

"I have to go," Jounouchi whispered.

"I still want to know who he is," Kaiba answered.

Jounouchi snorted gruffly, rising up from the bed once more to begin collecting his clothes. "You're really not going to let this go, huh? What if I just refuse to tell you?"

"I'll find him anyway. You know I can."

Jounouchi paused. "Why do you want to know so badly?"

Kaiba remained silent. He had no answer to give, still. Jounouchi rolled his eyes as he finished pulling up his jeans. "Whatever, I get it. Like I said before, you're a massive control freak who hates not knowing every little detail in the world. I've always known as much. Come meet me at the café on Thursday night at a little past ten, if you really want to know."

"Alright." Kaiba deliberated for a moment. Then, "Give me your phone."

Jounouchi studied Kaiba for a moment with a cocked eyebrow before fishing through his jeans pocket and handing Kaiba his phone. Before he could question himself, Kaiba deftly entered in his own phone number before handing the phone back. Jounouchi's eyebrow was still raised. He chose not to say anything, however, and instead silently slide his phone back in his pocket.

Once again, Kaiba followed Jounouchi to the entrance of the penthouse to watch him leave. Chicos, too, watched from the top of the stairs.

For the next few hours, the sight of Jounouchi's honey-colored hair streaking through his vision behind the door of Kaiba's penthouse, along with the sharp look on that unknown man's face, rested in the peripheries of Kaiba's mind.

Kaiba was so fucking tired trying to keep up with Jounouchi, but he also couldn't stop himself from pulling up in front of the café again two nights later, craving something that he didn't have a name for yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmm not sure how i feel about this chapter


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i'm alive (?)
> 
> sorry for the infinite wait

Kaiba awoke slowly, mind heavy and left wanting from a dream that didn't leave his mind as readily as he would've liked. Regardless, he dismissed the whole thing as a parody of thoughts produced by nonsensical streams of false consciousness. It was easier on his trembling peace of mind that way.

And, in the moments when it would creep back into the whites of his eyes, all Kaiba could do was grit his teeth at the lingering memory of soft golden hair, hand-spun by the light touch of the breeze, and honey warm eyes looking down at him.

Kaiba's teeth slid against each other painfully. The faint taste of metal tickled his nose.

He was tired. He was tired of these disruptive thoughts. He didn't have the time or will for it all.

Suddenly, the sight of Jounouchi's glowing gold eyes gilded the back of Kaiba's mind in a flash before fading away. Even after the moment had long passed, Kaiba still had to steady himself against his bathroom countertop as he quickly blinked away the blinding gleam left behind.

Kaiba willed himself to let the thought go instead of try to grasp it tight and permanently etch it into the forefront of his mind. There was no need for it, after all.

Or, he was just too weak to not leave it alone.

Nonetheless, Kaiba, once again, returned to that eyesore of a cafe later that day. Jounouchi, dressed as 'Junko' greeted him with a smirk as he spotted Kaiba waiting for him impatiently at the entrance. His legs, available without preview in a pair of nude tights, gave Kaiba a horrendously glorious view of Jounouchi's toned calves.

Kaiba did his best to not stare too hard. It would do no good to encourage Jounouchi even further, even though he was certain Jounouchi would do as he pleased regardless.

"We're just about done closing up!" Jounouchi called out, wide grin infuriatingly attractive. The crinkle around his eyes were especially prominent under the bright lights. "Just wait over there."

"You shouldn't have told me to come over so early if you were just going to make me wait," Kaiba called back testily. "There are plenty of more productive things I could be doing with my time."

Jounouchi snorted, turning his head to the side just enough for Kaiba to see the exaggerated roll of his eyes and the raise of Jounouchi's, quite frankly, impressively groomed eyebrow. "Listen, I know that you're fucking rich and all that and probably not used to having to wait for something, but why don't you just take this as an opportunity to experience how the common folk live? Maybe it'll help you learn about how your regular-people customers live, and that could be good for business, you know."

Jounouchi darted his gaze away just as Kaiba was about to roll his own eyes in returns. "Besides" Jounouchi began, "if you really had anything that important or pressing to do, would you really be wasted your time here waiting for little old me?"

Kaiba responded with a derisive snort as he sat down heavily at one of the tables. Anything else would probably work against him, somehow.

As Jounouchi continued to sweep up, alongside a tired young woman who was, in stark contrast, dressed in sweats, Kaiba did his best to avert his eyes away from the exaggerated sway of Jounouchi's hips as he passed by Kaiba. The other woman, surprisingly and thankfully, paid neither of them any attention, which meant that she hadn't noticed how much Jounouchi's antics affected Kaiba.

"Anyway," Jounouchi started as he approached Kaiba's table to wipe off the surface, "I'm surprised that you came here to visit me again."

"Don't lie to me, especially when you're so clearly bad at it," Kaiba deadpanned.

Jounouchi turned to Kaiba with a sly grin. "You're right; I am lying. I am not surprised at all to see you here again, even if you don't exactly match this place's mood with that nasty glare of yours." Jounouchi moved to restock the small container of packets on the table. "Though I _am_ surprised that you seem to be so concerned about me."

"I don't know if concerned is the right word."

"I don't know how to react to you being honest, even if by just by a lack of denial," Jounouchi drawled.

Kaiba said nothing in return.

"Well, look at you," Jounouchi continued at Kaiba's silence, "it's almost like you're a real adult and not some high-strung teenager trying to prove himself to everyone anymore."

"I don't want to hear that from you, deadbeat," Kaiba grit out, leaning towards Jounouchi so that he could have a better view of Kaiba's teeth, bared like an animal, "the reckless and worthless teenager who didn't know how to keep his mouth shut out of fear that he would lose the one defining quality that made him almost worthwhile to be friends with for the rest of your rag-tag group of friends."

Jounouchi froze for a moment before turning to Kaiba, eyes alight and mouth tight. If Kaiba's previous display was akin to that of a displeased wild animal, then he could only compare Jounouchi to a dog - a cornered and battered dog that, despite his anger and dense trepidation, was disgustingly desperate for attention and a nice pat on the head.

In hindsight, Kaiba supposed that Jounouchi had always looked like that - a kid desperate for affection.

Except now, all Kaiba could think about in response was how good that look on Jounouchi's face would look in Kaiba's bed.

"It looks like we really aren't good for each other," Jounouchi eventually responded, words slow and low. "And stop saying shit about my friends. I know that you don't even dislike them that much, especially Yugi, so drop the dumbass holier than thou act."

"And yet you requested that I come meet you here."

"And yet you came," Jounouchi echoed.

Somehow, Jounouchi had managed to almost get the upper hand over Kaiba.

They spent the rest of their time at the cafe in silence. Kaiba watched Jounouchi continue to wipe up ornery coffee stains off the table, silently reveling in the small patches of skin that would reveal themselves whenever Jounouchi bent over.

Really, Jounouchi was just a gangly young man with bony knees and legs that would be considered rightfully muscular if he weren't so damn skinny, but Kaiba enjoyed the sight regardless - much to his chagrin.

Regardless, despite the pointed glance that Jounouchi sent Kaiba's way after their almost argument, after Jounouchi had finished closing up, now clad in casual sweats, Kaiba rose wordlessly to walk out of the building with him towards Kaiba's car.

"You know, I'm thinking I should've kept the whole maid get-up on," Jounouchi mused as he settled into the passenger's seat. "That would've been a more juicy photos for the tabloids, I imagine. 'Seto Kaiba, spotted with a mysterious figure clad in a cheap maid's costume'." He turned to Kaiba. "I can't decide if that would be more helpful or harmful to Kaiba Corp. It'd probably make a lot of people like you more, at least. Make you more _relatable_ , which might just get more people interested in investing."

"I don't need people to _like_ me for my company to be doing well," Kaiba replied, slamming the door behind him. "Our stocks are already much more valuable than those for just about every other corporation involved in tech development and the gaming industry."

"Except for Industrial Illusions, of course."

Kaiba responded with a sharp glare, to which Jounouchi responded to in turn with a soft chuckle.

The sharp angles of Jounouchi's face were distracting as they danced through the corner of Kaiba's eyes. It wasn't too bad, though; as long as Kaiba kept his attention away from Jounouchi's eyes, glowing sporadically as the warm streetlights passed them by, he could resist the urge to act like a cliche boyfriend and rest a hand on one of Jounouchi's toned thighs.

Jounouchi would've had a field day with that, after all, and the last thing Kaiba wanted to do was give Jounouchi the satisfaction.

In the end, they were able to make it back to Kaiba's penthouse with no problems. Chicos greeted them with a soft meow and tilt of the head, eyeing the new, yet vaguely familiar, guest with big, bright eyes before she moved to slither her well-groomed fur over and around Kaiba's legs.

"No," Kaiba reprimanded gently, walking away slowly to avoid accidentally kicking her, "you've already been fed all of your meals today."

Chicos meowed again, which curiously sounded a touch petulant, before turning her charms on Jounouchi.

Jounouchi laughed, bending down to pet her. She only allowed a few strokes, however, before leaping away in a huff of white fur at the lack of food being offered to her.

"She's kinda spoiled, huh?" Jounouchi teased. "I guess maybe I shouldn't be too surprised, though, considering how much you spoiled Mokuba back in the day."

"Unfortunately, you might be right about Mokuba," Kaiba muttered, pulling out plates and silverware. "He has been quite mouthy lately."

"Oh, he's just at that age. He's really not spoiled at all, all things considered." Jounouchi reached over Kaiba's arm to pluck a dumpling off of the plate Kaiba was holding before sliding it into his mouth. Kaiba made a great, conscious effort to ignore it. "Not everyone is as overbearing, rude, and self-righteous as you were as a teen, and for the best, too."

"Are you really trying to insult _me_ , considering the antics you used to get into?"

Jounouchi shrugged, and then smirked. "You were there for most of the major ones too, weren't you?"

Kaiba remained silent and instead turned his attention to plating the dumplings Charmagne had left for him. Recently, she had begun making more food than before. Kaiba didn't want to think about how it because she had most likely noticed more food than usual being consumed on occasion, thanks to Jounouchi's bottomless stomach and illogical presence in Kaiba's life, but the evidence was in how Kaiba made sure to give a hefty serving that would make even Chicos jealous.

It was unsettling, but it was still there.

"Now that you're here," Kaiba began, setting the plates down with a sharp clink, leaning into Jounouchi, "why don't you tell me about that man?"

Jounouci paused, and then quickly popped another dumpling into his mouth. He chewed slowly, gaze fixed on Kaiba's. The intensity of it all, the slowly lapping gold silk waves that roved across Jounouchi's eyes, made Kaiba want to look away. Except, Kaiba was never one to back down from such a blatant challenge.

And, if he were being completely honest, a part of him couldn't bear to miss the moment.

Jounouchi was the ultimately the first one to break, to Kaiba's silent delight. His eyes darted away as he swallowed the first dumpling before moving to pick up another one.

"No," Kaiba stated, grabbing a hold of Jounouchi's wrist. It felt uncharacteristically thin underneath Kaiba's large grip. "I won't let you avoid the question any longer."

Jounouhi wrenched his arm out of Kaiba's grasp with a scoff. "And here I was, hoping that I could just come over for some nice, free food and drink before distracting you with a good fuck and then disappearing into the night. Once again, you ruin all the fun."

Kaiba snorted, leaning in further. "Don't you think it's presumptuous of you to consider yourself a good fuck?" He asked through a hiss.

"Why don't you tell me?" Jounouchi whispered, sensuality spilling off the tip of his tongue. Kaiba thought back to the brash, uninhibited kid that Kaiba had reluctantly interacted with - and quite enthusiastically sneered at - all those years ago back in high school, and he cursed whatever grand force allowed Jounouchi to grow up into such a menace to Kaiba's ego. "Or do you need another demonstration before you can make a final decision?"

"I would rather an answer to my question." Kaiba leaned back, taking a bite from his own food. "I will admit, you've gotten better at not being unbelievably obnoxious and sickeningly straightforward, but you're still a novice at best when it comes to sweet-talking your way into getting what you want."

Jounouchi huffed, stuffing more dumplings into his mouth. He had dropped any semblance of grace he was trying to push earlier, and the sight was strangely calming to Kaiba. "Well, it worked on Charles, so I think my sweet-talking skills are pretty good, thank you very much."

" _Charles_?" Kaiba questioned, settling his elbows on the table. Gozaburo would've hollered at the display of poor manners before ordering Daimon to give Kaiba a quick hit as punishment - because Gozaburo was at least smart enough to avoid laying a hand on Kaiba himself - but he doubted Jounouchi would mind. Besides, it felt good to do as he pleased in his own penthouse, all while knowing that Gozaburo was somewhere in the ground rotting. "Is that his name?"

"Yeah." Jounouchi swiftly plopped another dumpling in his mouth. "He's half Japanese, half some weird Caucasian mix. He told me specifically, once, his exact ethnic blend, but I don't remember because I didn't think it was important."

"You must be pretty close," Kaiba paused to take another, slow bite and chew of his food, "to be on a first-name basis."

Jounouchi shrugged. "I mean, for _most_ people, it's pretty normal to be on a first-name basis with a person after sleeping with them a few times." He slid his gaze towards Kaiba in a slow crawl, the small tilt of his head tossed Kaiba's way like a throw-away comment that stung more than it had any right to. "You're an exception, though."

Kaiba bit back his snarl. It didn't matter to him whether or not Jounouchi called him by anything other than 'Kaiba'; their whole relationship up to that point had been built upon them as Kaiba and Jounouchi. He didn't see a need for anything else.

"Are you still involved with him?" Kaiba asked. He bit back another snarl, harsher and sharper this time. It would've been easier if this 'Charles' hadn't looked exceptionally good for his age.

Jounouchi simply snorted in response as he finished up the rest of his meal. "Don't look at me like that; even if it's casual, it's too much work for me to hook up with more than one person at a time." He reached over towards Kaiba's plate, which Kaiba pushed forward seamlessly. "That's all in the past now."

"I wouldn't exactly say that him visiting you after your duel a few days ago as 'in the past,'" Kaiba argued.

"It's not like I was happy to see him there," Jounouchi countered. "Who knew he would get so attached?" He paused, flicking his gaze towards the mini-bar in Kaiba's kitchen. "How about you pour me a drink to help bribe me into telling you more?"

Wordlessly, Kaiba slid out of his chair, and, with a flick of his wrist, poured the both of them a generous glass of Macallan.

Jounouchi let out a low, appreciative whistle as he watched. "I have to say, that sure is a nice bribe."

"And you must also be a bit spoiled yourself," Kaiba murmured, "if you're familiar with a Macallan."

"You're not the only disgustingly rich person in the world, you know. There's Pegasus, my sponsor, for example."

"Pegasus only drinks Dom," Kaiba stated flatly.

"That is true," Jounouchi intoned slowly. "He likes the way the bubbles feel on his tongue and going down his throat, so he says."

Kaiba allowed himself a long, smooth sip of his whisky before turning his attention back to Jounouchi, who was dutifully attending to his own drink. The swirl of the whisky ran counter to the crash and wake of Jounouchi's amber eyes, and Kaiba took one more gulp, just for good measure.

"And what does this 'Charles' do," Kaiba began, the smolder of the whisky fueling his breath, "that allows him to afford Macallan to share?"

A moment of silence passed through them, tense and tinged with apprehensive annoyance. Whether it was from him or Jounouchi, Kaiba wasn't sure. Frankly, it was probably both of them, but the mood was broken with Jounouchi's heavy sigh and even heavier gulp of whisky.

"Please don't tell me you're going to start acting like some scorned lover getting jealous over someone from my past," Jounouchi scoffed as he circled the rim of his now empty glass with a lazy finger. "Because, let me just say, the look really doesn't suit you. In fact, it's pretty fucking disgusting. I don't think I could stand it."

This time, Kaiba let a nasty snarl escape from his hard-clenched teeth before finishing the rest of his own drink. It went down smoothly and softened the lines at the periphery of his thoughts just enough for him to look Jounouchi in the eyes and feel almost nothing in the face of bright umber. "Don't take me for some lovesick teenage girl, and _do not_ think so highly of yourself."

"Damn, it's good to see that you still think so highly of me." Jounouchi's lips curled up despite his sour tone. "I guess I won't ask you why you're so hung up on me then, lest I accidentally unleash the emo teen rage that you still have pent up somehow. You'd think you would've gotten rid of some of that when you flew into space a few years ago like a maniac, but I guess that was just wishful hoping on my part."

Kaiba's throat locked as he thought up a response through his warm whirlwind of thoughts, but just for a moment. "I've had enough of whining from your friends and Pegasus for multiple lifetimes. I feel that it's simply in my best interest to ensure that you're not being harassed so that I don't get a frantic herd of incompetent fools flooding my office asking for my help on your behalf."

Jounouchi didn't look particularly convinced, but he also didn't seem skeptical or curious enough to inquire further. Instead, he poured himself and Kaiba another glass of whisky, at Kaiba's silent nod of approval.

"I'm glad you're so invested in keeping me safe from shady characters, whatever your motivation may be, but Charles is just your normal partner of a major law firm that helps defend big-name companies, like Industrial Illusions." Jounouchi paused to take a long sip of his drink. "I guess Kaiba Corp has never hired him or his other lawyers before?"

"We have are own in-house legal team, so no, I have not. I'm surprised Industrial Illusions doesn't have their own team."

"I didn't bother asking about the details and all that. I wasn't that interested."

"But you were interested enough to sleep with him?" Kaiba asked. "I didn't know older men were your type."

"I wouldn't say that. I've slept with you, haven't I? And, even though you're the crankiest and prickliest person I know who probably complains about the 'youth' on a regular basis, you're physically quite young," Jounouchi replied. "Though, to be honest, I feel like Charles looks a bit like you, just older."

Kaiba thought back to the glimpse of Charles he had gotten; an older gentleman who was impressively fit while wearing his age on his face with enviable grace woven into the light lines branching from his bright blue eyes underneath brown hair peppered with streaks of gray. If he were being honest, Kaiba actually agreed with Jounouchi a bit, but he was not in the mood to admit as much.

"Anyway," Jounouchi continued, punctuated by a flick of a wrist that sent a small pool of whisky splashing down his bony wrist. The drip of it down Jounouchi's forearm caught Kaiba's eye faster than he would've liked to admit. "I was surprised, but he asked me out to a nice dinner and drinks date after we ran into each other after at Industrial Illusions, and I figured why not? By the way he was dressed and how he acted, he obviously had some good money, so I knew I would at least get some nice bougie food out of it. And, if I were lucky, I'd even get a funny story to tell at parties later on."

"He seemed more invested in you than just some guy he once went on a date with," Kaiba mused.

"Well, he was simply _so_ smitten with me after our first meeting, that he insisted on meeting with me more often, credit card at the ready. But who can blame him? I am pretty amazing, after all." Jounouchi threw a flippant look Kaiba's way, eyes shining with mischievous glee. If Kaiba squinted hard enough, he could practically see Jounouchi preening.

“That’s beyond debatable, but I suppose you need to keep hold of some delusions to console yourself,” Kaiba argued through a breeze of nonchalance.

"And you’re as much as a haughty asshole as ever. Either way, I found Charles attractive enough that I didn't mind sleeping with him a few times." He threw another side-long glance that Kaiba barely managed to catch. “And that’s basically it. It wasn’t anything serious, at the end of the day.”

“Your reaction to him approaching you after your duel seemed a bit serious.”

Jounouchi snorted, this time mouth tight from the sudden curveball Kaiba was now shooting his way. Kaiba relished in the sight because he was tired of being caught so unawares by someone so straightforward as Jounouchi who shouldn’t know how to play this game so well. “You know, I really hate this habit of yours where you demand to know everything as if you have some God-given right to it. I didn't take you for an eavesdropper.”

"Do you really think I would've been nearly as successful if I didn't always keep my ears open?" Kaiba asked. "And you're the one choosing to tell me all of this, so I don't see why you're trying to blame your own actions on me, though I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It is your M.O."

"And risk getting myself a dose of your passive aggressive whining over something being out of your control by not telling you? Yeah right. Really, you're fucking insufferable."

"I think you really just like the attention. You're still that old dog yapping away to get someone to notice you. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering how your family operates. They must have neglected you a fair bit as a child," Kaiba muttered.

Another clench of Jounouchi's mouth, this time punctuated by a tighter grip on his glass. "And you're still as desperate for control as ever. Does it make you sleep better at night to pretend like you're some kinda god? Does it help you forget about all the things you failed to do when you were younger? I bet there are a lot, knowing how  _your_ family operated.”

Kaiba should've expected this - this caustic air between them that was growing increasingly heavy at an alarming rate. He could just about feel that lining of his lungs shredding apart as they withdrew away from his ribcage despite how deep he was trying to breathe in. They - him and Jounouchi - were simply not meant to be together like this, quaffing generous helpings of expensive whisky while sitting across from each other in Kaiba's penthouse.

Why was Kaiba here? Why was Jounouchi going along with it? He couldn't make any sense of it.

Frustrated, Kaiba slammed down his glass and sprang up from his chair. Chicos, who had been peacefully slumbering nearby, startled awake and meowed curiously. He softened his pace a touch as he walked past to avoid upsetting her, but otherwise still stomped away with an embarrassing amount of vigor.

He would have plenty of time later to look back at this moment with chagrin. For now, he needed to cool himself down from the warmth of the whisky and heat radiating off of Jounouchi that somehow permeated through the whole penthouse.

Kaiba burst into the master bathroom and hastily scrubbed away at his face with cold water. If she were here, Kaiba's personal stylist would scold him for treating his skin so harshly, but she wasn't, and Kaiba needed this.

A few minutes passed during which Kaiba was blessed with silence, save for the soft sound of running water. If Mokuba were here, he would snip at Kaiba for wasting water. He wasn't, but Kaiba reluctantly shut off the faucet, regardless.

In the newfound quiet, Kaiba could hear Jounouchi padding over towards him over the sound of Kaiba's gentle heaving.

"Are we going to keep doing this?" Jounouchi whispered.

"I don't know," Kaiba admitted.

"You'd think we would've grown out of this by now," Jounouchi lamented.

"No one ever outgrows these things, from what I've encountered. Just look at Pegasus."

Jounouchi snorted half-heartedly. Slowly, Jounouchi made his way towards Kaiba once again. As that infuriating heat came closer and closer, Kaiba lifted his head to look over at Jounouchi. His eyes were hesitant, yet determined, and, in the face of it all, Kaiba couldn't resist himself from meeting Jounouchi halfway for a desperate kiss.

Evidently, they were going to keep doing this: needling each other's sore points until they couldn't take it anymore, only to give the moment the barest recognition before distracting themselves with an annoyingly satisfying fuck. Kaiba's rational mind was screeching at him to stop making the same fucking mistake over and over again because that was just not how he operated, but his dick was begging him to just let it be because Jounouchi's lips were soft and his lanky body surprisingly warm.

Despite not being able to focus on anything beyond Jounouchi's wild mop of honey hair, Kaiba was able to lead them safely to his bedroom. Wordlessly, he pushed Jounouchi down onto his bed before readily climbing over Jounouchi. Jounouchi was quick to remove his clothes, and Kaiba was more than ready to undress in turn.

Soon enough, they were both nude and Kaiba was eager to feel Jounouchi's bare skin against his once more. Even though they had only slept together a few times prior, Jounouchi's body was strangely familiar and comforting.

Kaiba was more than content to lavish Jounouchi's collarbones and nipples with attention, but Jounouchi was apparently impatient for more.

"Come on, Kaiba," Jounouchi gusted, face flushed down to his shoulders. The dusty red tint looked enticing against Jounouchi's lightly tanned skin. "Get to the point, already."

Kaiba was tempted to be ignore Jounouchi for the sake of being contrary, but the way Jounouchi whined when Kaiba wrapped a firm hand around Jounouchi's dick made acquiescing to Jounouchi's pleas a much more appealing choice.

With another pleased mewl, Jounouchi reached a hand up to drag Kaiba's head down to lock him into a fierce kiss. Jounouchi nipped at Kaiba's lips lightly, and Kaiba bit down sharply in return, much to Jounouchi's delight.

"Come on," Jounouchi repeated, grinding his hips up against Kaiba's, "give me _more_. Don't be so nice, I need it."

In spite of his breathy moans, Jounouchi was still managing to goad Kaiba expertly, and, in spite of knowing as much, Kaiba let himself get swept away in the heady breaths Jounouchi was whispering to him in.

Kaiba allowed a guttural growl to fall unbidden from his mouth as he roughly pulled Jounouchi off the bed roughly before quickly turning him face-down and wrenching Jounouchi's hips upwards.

Jounouchi's moans sounded downright delighted, and Kaiba reveled in them.

Emboldened by Jounouchi's reactions, Kaiba fisted a chunk of Jounouchi's hair in his hand and gave an experimental tug. The arch of Jounouchi's back, coupled with an even greater slew of appreciative whines, were promising.

"Is this what you want?" Kaiba asked breathily, resting his other hand on Jounouchi's hips. "Is this what you like?"

"Yes," Jounouchi hissed out. "Oh, yes, pull my hair harder." He shifted his head, presenting his neck for Kaiba. "Will you kiss my neck too?"

With Jounouchi asking something from him so nicely for once, how was Kaiba to refuse? Just having Jounouchi pliant and desperate under Kaiba was more than enough to get him peppering kisses and licks across the smooth expense of Jounouchi's tenderly tensed neck.

Jounouchi remained fairly still for a few minutes as he relished in the attention Kaiba was affording his neck. However, he had grown impatient again soon enough, as evidenced by the impatient push of his ass against Kaiba's cock.

Kaiba kept one hand on Jounouchi's hip as he pulled away briefly to rummage through his nightstand for a condom and some lube. Despite not being able to see it clearly, Jounouchi pulled the bottle out of Kaiba's hand so he could lube up a few of his own fingers before hastily shoving two of them in his ass.

"Someone's eager," Kaiba taunted lightly, eyes trained on the sight of Jounouchi preparing himself.

"Listen, even though you're a _huge_ fucking asshole, you're a really good fuck," Jounouchi breathed in response, fingers moving quicker.

Kaiba was, for a mad second, tempted to ask if he were better than that mystery man Charles. His curiosity wasn't nearly strong enough to overcome his arousal, though, because he knew Jounouchi's resulting rage would be the end. Instead, he squirted a bit of lube onto his own hand to insert a finger in besides Jounouchi's.

"Admittedly, you're not so bad yourself," Kaiba whispered hastily.

"I never thought I'd live to hear something like that. I don't even know how to handle it."

It occurred to Kaiba suddenly that perhaps sticking his finger into Jounouchi's asshole without knowing about Jounouchi's hygiene for the day was not the most logical thing to do. However, the happy sounds spilling from Jounouchi's lips, along with the feeling of his finger brushing up against Jounouchi's inside that tight heat were more than enough for quiet his concerns.

Kaiba enjoyed fingering Jounouchi and was more than content to keep doing so, but, at the impatient withdrawal of Jounouchi's fingers, Kaiba assumed that Jounouchi was more than ready for more. In the end, Kaiba wasn't one to complain. He quickly rolled the condom onto his dick before letting it slide slowly over the crack of Jounouchi's ass.

Cautiously, Kaiba wrapped his arm around Jounouchi to gently grip the front of Jounouchi's neck, squeezing experimentally to gauge Jounouchi's reaction.

"Yes, that's good," Jounouchi breathed, pushing his ass against Kaiba's dick even more. " _Harder_."

Kaiba wasn't exactly used to being told what to do, nor did he usually enjoy it on the rare occasions than it did happen, but he couldn't find it in him to be bothered.

Besides, it gave him a reason to tighten his grip at the same time that he gave a sharp snap of his hips for a quick thrust inside of Jounouchi, which Kaiba enjoyed almost as much as Jounouchi apparently did.

"Oh, _fuck_." Jounouchi's words were hardly anything more than a hint of air, but they sounded so clear to Kaiba nonetheless. "I hate that you're so good at this."

Spurred on, Kaiba began thrusting almost immediately, the sound of skin slapping against skin highlighting each one. Jounouchi moaned as loudly as he could past the grasp that Kaiba had against his neck, barely able to hold himself up against the onslaught. That was fine with Kaiba, though; his other arm was wrapped around Jounouchi's waist, stabilizing them both and giving Jounouchi just enough leverage to push back in time with Kaiba's thrusts forward.

Ultimately, the two of them didn't last very long. When Kaiba noticed that his thrusts were becoming more erratic and that he couldn't keep his increasing groans from escaping, he released his hold on Jounouchi's throat, just in case, regardless of Jounouchi's displeased whine. Instead, he wrapped it around Jounouchi's dripping cock and, after a few quick pumps, could feel the warm come pooling in his hand in time with Jounouchi's throaty moans.

Moments later, Kaiba, too, was coming. It came so hard and fast that, for the first time, his mind went absolutely numb, and he found himself an unknown amount of time later, half-slumped against Jounouchi's heaving back.

"God, why are you so insufferably good at things that you have no right to be good at," Jounouchi murmured through the pillow his face was half engulfed by.

"Who can blame me? I am pretty amazing, after all," Kaiba echoed breathlessly.

Jounouchi let out a haphazard chuckle. As the air returned to his lungs, Kaiba slowly stood up to wash the quickly cooling come of his hand before grabbing a tissue to wipe off the rest of it off of Jounouchi's chest.

"Should I stay?" Jounouchi asked quietly. Through the second of silence that followed, Kaiba could hear a faint 'this time' reluctantly tacked on to the end of the question.

"Do whatever you want," Kaiba answered gruffly, already pulling up the covers. "That's what you'll end up doing, as always."

"Well," Jounouchi began before he was interrupted by his own long yawn, "I guess you're not wrong."

It was a bit intimidating how Jounouchi's wily antics were becoming so familiar to him so quickly, but Kaiba was too tired to think about it too deeply.

Or, maybe, he was simply afraid to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idkkkkk how i feel hmmm
> 
> anyway, let me know! i'm trying to keep them mostly in character i hope? 
> 
> but i am unsure and skeptical haha
> 
> either way, i hope you enjoyed it


	6. Chapter 6

“You told me that he was a CEO of a major company.”

Pegasus looked up from his cup of tea that he had gotten from a, blessedly, standard café as opposed to that infuriating place that Jounouchi still insisted on working at. His mouth was agape in a rage-inducing mockery of affronted shock, but he didn’t even try to hide the mirthful glint in his eye.

“Pardon me Kaiba, but I can’t say that I know who you’re talking about.”

Kaiba clenched his teeth hard. “Don’t play dumb. You know _exactly_ who I’m talking about. "Does a 'well-off older gentleman' sound familiar?”

Pegasus tilted his head like a mischievous cat hovering over a curiously broken glass. "Oh, are you referring to Charles Reowae?"

"Yes, I suppose I am," Kaiba responded with a hiss. "Who apparently is not a CEO at all, but is in actuality a renowned partner for a well-respected law firm that specializes in corporation law for many prosperous industries, or so I've heard."

"Oh, did I say that I was a CEO? My apologies, dear Kaiba. I am getting quite old these days, you know. All these terms like 'partner' for all these different jobs can be confusing for someone like me, you know." The tone of Pegasus' voice very clearly revealed that he, in fact, was not at all confused by any of it.

Kaiba scowled and nearly snapped his teeth at Pegasus before deciding to simply let it go with a deep exhale and a crawling count to ten.

"Anyway," Pegasus continued, voice deceptively light, his breath of indifference a mockery against Kaiba's skin, "how _did_ you discover that he was actually the successful and wealthy partner of a major law firm?"

Kaiba had done his research, of course. He had discovered that Charles Reowae was a corporate lawyer whose skills were lauded all over the world for a number of major companies. A young prodigy who had excelled in academics from the very beginning, so much so that he had begun his undergraduate studies at sixteen before matriculating into law school at twenty.

Princeton for his undergraduate degree in Economics, followed by Harvard for his law degree, both obtained with flying colors. He had landed his first job in New York City with a huge company shortly afterwards as he quickly rose through the corporate ladder through his multiple successes working with and defending several major U.S. companies, all highly-publicized.

His prestige only continued from there, including an invitation to join Mensa and a patent under his belt for novel energy-saving technology. Apparently, the damn guy even found time to tinker with engineering in-between his high-profile cases.

Eventually, Charles Reowae found himself with a residence in Japan in order to work more closely with Industrial Illusions for a chance to 'become better acquainted with other cultures while having the great pleasure of helping a company that dedicates itself to the livelihood of children', or some bullshit to that effect.

Unfortunately, Kaiba had been unable to find anything on this Mr. Reowae that might actually be helpful to him.

"I heard about it from Jounouchi," Kaiba eventually replied, canines grazing the inside of his cheek to steady himself with the pain. It wouldn't do to reveal to Pegasus that he had already went and looked into Reowae; while being informed was power, the admittance that one needed that knowledge, that one didn't have the skills to best another through unfettered wit and instinct, was a weakness.

Everything was a fucking weakness when it came to men like Pegasus -

and Gozaburo.

"I wasn't aware that you and Jounouchi were so close."

"I wouldn't consider us especially close."

"Oh my, what a surprise. I thought you'd deny your association with Jounouchi immediately with that affronted voice of yours," Pegasus hummed.

"What's the point? You know that I'm in contact with him," Kaiba said.

"Look who's all grown up now."

"I don't want to hear about being all grown up from someone who refuses to let go of his early-morning cartoons." Kaiba paused, briefly debating whether or not he should continue. Against his better judgment, which was becoming an annoying occurrence as of late, he decided to press on. "How do _you_ know about Mr. Reowae and Jounouchi?"

"Word gets around and people tell me things," Pegasus hummed lightly, taking another sip from his horrible sugar-laden drink. "I'm very approachable and easy to talk to, you know, and I do have various ways of persuading people to help sate my curiosity, even if it can be so _hard_ and  _rough_  sometimes."

Kaiba rolled his eyes at Pegasus' ridiculously obvious antics as he waited for Pegasus to stop glancing at him suggestively. As if Kaiba was the one to fall for such overt sexual innuendos in front of Pegasus, of all people.

"Anyway," Pegasus finally continued, much to Kaiba's reluctant curiosity, "Jounouchi has mentioned him a few times, too. Mostly just regaling me of stories about Mr. Reowae's impressive wealth and his tendency to use it to his full advantage."

'I have an impressive wealth, too, alongside my good looks and skills in bed," Kaiba thought bitterly, taking a slow sip of his coffee to avoid saying something else utterly embarrassing and all too-telling. Pegasus probably already knew what Kaiba was thinking anyway, that damn sneak.

"Except, now that I think about it, I do recall Charles also mentioning Jounouchi to me a few times." A pause. Pegasus' gaze was heavy and piercing, even with only one eye available. Kaiba returned it with his own steely gaze.

As much as he loathed to admit it, if there was at least one good thing Gozaburo had imparted onto Kaiba, it was an uncanny ability to stare down haughty assholes. He was proud to say that he was pretty damn good at it now. How could he not be, considering all the practice he got growing up?

"From what I can recall, Charles seemed quite smitten with Jounouchi," Pegasus drawled. "He had a habit of trying to scrounge up Jounouchi's schedule from me or my secretary. Seems like the poor man was just desperate to get the chance to spend as much time as possible with Jounouchi, all while singing subtle praises."

Kaiba was able to bite his traitorous tongue, thankfully. The hit of relief he got from the small resurgence of self-control comforted him. The disappointed downturn of Pegasus' mouth was a plus.

The meeting ended with little accomplishment, both on the subject of the mysterious Charles Reowae and actual business. However, Kaiba figured that he could at least try to coax some information on Charles out of Jounouchi later that day.

Kaiba thought he would've been more appalled to have someone, especially Jounouchi, become a bona fide frequent visitor of his penthouse so quickly. Except, he had copious amounts of fine wines and spirits to help dampen his anxieties.

As a result, Kaiba was only moderately taken aback the sight of Jounouchi prancing out of his bathroom in his his sickeningly 'cute' maid outfit.

"What are you doing," Kaiba deadpanned, pouring himself another glass of whiskey. Regardless of Jounouchi's answer, he assumed he would need another drink.

"Didn't I tell you I could dress up all nice for you?" Jounouchi's voice lilted with mirth, and his eyes swam with eager temptation.

"I don't recall ever asking you to do so."

"Well, no, but," and the steady of click of Jounouchi's heels only drew Kaiba's eyes towards his long, lean legs even faster, "I still thought it would be fun for the both of us."

Kaiba scoffed, but he didn't attempt to deter Jounouchi's approach, and he definitely didn't turn Jounouchi away as he gingerly slipped himself onto Kaiba's lap, lean thighs splayed outwards over Kaiba's legs.

"I just didn't think that you'd be so eager to cross-dress." Kaiba rested his grip on Jounouchi's boney hips with a firm touch. The poke of bones from a gentle squeeze prompted an involuntary thought that Kaiba should maybe feed Jounouchi more in an effort to fatten him up, as if Jounouchi didn't already eat enough when offered.

Jounouchi shrugged before he threw back the remnants of Kaiba's drink. "I do this practically everyday for work, anyway, so it's really not that big of a deal to me anymore. Besides, wearing a dress feels pretty nice. It's freeing."

Kaiba hummed in response as he slid his hands down over Jounouchi's stocking-clad legs and under the black frills of the dress. He felt the smooth sheen of Jounouchi's stocking and, upon pushing up the hem slightly, noticed the garter belt holding Jounouchi's thigh-high's up. Not to mention, the black lace underwear. Though, it was much less skimpy than it could've been.

"Your job's dress code includes a garter belt and women's underwear?" Kaiba asked, brushing his fingers against the sliver of Jounouchi's upper thighs still left exposed.

With a low, pleased groan, Jounouchi wafted his fingers through Kaiba's hair as he replied. "All in the name of being paid a nice salary for an otherwise minimum-wage job. The owner claims that it's to help lure customers in for the 'potential panty shot' or whatever. Fine by me, but it does mean I have to work hard to avoid accidentally flashing my dick at people. It would scare off the customers."

"I'm surprised. I had assumed a number of your customers would've been thrilled at the opportunity."

"Yeah, probably, but that's not in my contract. They'd gotta pay me a _hefty_ tip for that." He tossed a careless wink Kaiba's way that was far more enticing than it had any right to be, especially coming from Jounouchi. Sly seduction was a skill that Kaiba never could have fathomed would be a part of Jounouchi's bold repertoire, and yet here they were. "Of course, it's free of charge for you."

"I'm not sure if I would consider all the food and drink you're inhaling making this 'free of charge,'" Kaiba scoffed. His hands didn't stray from Jounouchi's legs, though.

"Does that make you my sugar daddy, then?" Jounouchi's voice moved over him in a teasing lilt.

"If you're trying to say that you want me to give you money, you can just be upfront about it."

"But what's the fun in actually _asking_ you to give me money?"

Kaiba didn't respond. Instead, he settled for pushing Jounouchi's skirt up higher and gripping onto his garter belt loosely.

"Hey," Jounouchi warned quietly, placing his own hand over Kaiba's gently, "this was all free for me as part of my 'welcome-to-the-team' package, but it's gonna cost me if I have to replace any of it, not to mention being put on bathroom duty for it. You are not worth all that effort."

"If _I_ pay for it, then would it be worth it?"

Silence dipped over them briefly before Jounouchi spoke again, wide grin spread across his face. "Well, if that's the case, I guess it wouldn't be too bad. I hope you appreciate the fact that I'm letting you do this in spite of all the bathroom duty waiting for me."

"I'll make sure to keep that in mind when I write the check."

Carelessly, Kaiba gripped down hard before pulling Jounouchi's garter belt off with a swift flick of his wrist, reveling in the sound the rip made, along with the soft thud of Jounouchi's heels falling away. Kaiba also quite liked the small flinch away that it elicited from Jounouchi before Kaiba was pulling him in close again to then tear away at the sheer underwear and thigh-highs left behind.

"Well," Jounouchi gusted, voice small and breathy, "who would've guessed that Seto Kaiba has a kinky streak."

"What about you, gushing about being a fan of pain that isn't painful," Kaiba countered. He ran his hands up Jounouchi's leg's aimlessly before reluctantly pulling them away in order to deal with his own clothes. This time, in a more dignified manner, of course - they were designer, after all.

"Yeah, but I'm not the infamous CEO of a major international company, am I?"

Kaiba scoffed, pulling his shirt up over his head before he replied. "Those are a lot of impressive words coming out of your mouth."

Jounouchi let out his own scoff. "Look, I may not be as smart as you, but even I know stuff like that."

"What is this? Are you complimenting me? You are just full of surprises right now." Kaiba asked as he moved towards removing the rest of his clothes. Unfortunately, that meant Kaiba's lap was now distinctly Jounouchi-free, but Jounouchi made sure to stay close enough so that his fingers could still gently brush against Kaiba's shoulder.

Kaiba was met with a, frankly, impressive eye-roll from Jounouchi, but no further banter. It seemed that Jounouchi was much more interested climbing back onto Kaiba's lap and putting his focus towards running his hands up over Kaiba's bare chest and over his collarbones before stopping at the back of Kaiba's neck, lacing his fingers in the bottom of Kaiba's hair.

Kaiba had no complaints.

With a firm grip, Kaiba hauled Jounouchi further up his lap, fingers sinking into Jounouchi's, quite frankly, flat ass. Quickly, Kaiba leaned in for a deep kiss which Jounouchi reciprocated readily.

They kissed for awhile, Kaiba's hands roving all over and across Jounouchi's bare legs before pushing up the dress more to get better access of Jounouchi's hips. Jounouchi, too, preoccupied himself with running his fingers through Kaiba's hair, nails scraping gently over his scalp periodically. A part of Kaiba felt annoyingly bereft that the dress prevented more direct skin contact, but another irritating part of him quite liked the sight of Jounouchi all dolled up even though, really, he didn't look much like a girl at all.

It was probably for the best, though. All the makeup and fake hair would've been a huge pain to deal with.

As much as Kaiba enjoyed kissing Jounouchi - and when exactly had Jounouchi become so good at kissing - the little amount of friction he was getting from the light rocking of Jounouchi's boney butt over his dick wasn't nearly enough.

Kaiba gently pushed Jounouchi off of his lap, to both of their chagrin, before standing up and moving towards his bedroom.

"Don't move," Kaiba commanded, voice low and hoarse.

"Yeah, like I'm really just going to bolt out of your place like this, dick rock-hard under this maid outfit and everything," Jounouchi deadpanned. "I still have to get that check, after all."

"Of course you do."

Kaiba made his way to his room with quick steps, reaching his bedside drawers in a few strides before returning to the kitchen just as quickly. Chicos had meowed curiously at him during his trip, but he paid her no more than a quick pat on the head, and she seemed satisfied enough with that.

That was all he really could afford her, anyway. More than anything else, Kaiba was overwhelmingly engrossed in the sight of Jounouchi, waiting patiently in Kaiba's kitchen with the skirt of his dress still hiked up and bunched around his waist, a few errant strips of stocking still hanging off his calves.

As Kaiba approached, Jounouchi opened his mouth, probably gearing up to casually toss out a few more teasing words. However, Kaiba managed to beat Jounouchi to the punch, snaking his fingers in Jounouchi's hair before giving it a gentle tug towards him.

The wide-eyed look Jounouchi gave him in response was just unfairly enticing.

"Is this ok?" Kaiba murmured lowly, grip still firm.

"Oh, yes," Jounouchi breathed, gaze turning glassy, face flushing, "go ahead. I'll let you know if I want you to stop, promise."

"I don't doubt it. You were never shy about saying exactly what was on your mind, no matter how ridiculous it was."

Once again, Kaiba heard the tell-tale inhale from Jounouchi, signaling that he was about to speak once more. And, once again, Kaiba interrupted him by pulling Jounouchi towards the kitchen countertop, more by the arm than his actual hair, and bending him over it, making sure to brace Jounouchi's impact a bit with his own arm.

The gasp that escaped from Jounouchi's lips sounded more like a mix of shock and arousal than pained, so Kaiba figured that he was still in the clear.

Furthermore, if Jounouchi eagerly pushing his non-existent ass against Kaiba's neglected cock meant anything, it was most likely a good sign.

Without pausing to let Jounouchi catch his breath, Kaiba opened one of the lube packets he brought and spread it over his fingers and Jounouchi's ass before pushing to fingers in in a single motion.

The small hiss that Jounouchi let out did sound a bit pained this time, but he made no further complaints as Kaiba began to scissor his fingers.

After Jounouchi had grown accustomed enough to the fingers to resume pushing his ass back against them, Kaiba inserted a third finger and move forward to let his dick lazily brush up against Jounouchi's thigh. The friction still wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

Kaiba didn't spend much time preparing Jounouchi; based on the desperate moans falling from Jounouchi's mouth and writhing of his hips, Kaiba presumed that Jounouchi was more than ready.

Jounouchi whined as Kaiba withdrew his hand from his hair and fingers from his ass and watched silently with glazed eyes as Kaiba tore open the condom packet and deftly rolled it over his dick. He continued to watch as Kaiba lined himself up and only looked away when Kaiba forced him to by fisting his hair again and yanking his head to the side at the same time he thrust in.

Jounouchi let out a sharp moan as he scrambled for purchase against the counter, dress fluttering around him. For a moment, the sight reminded Kaiba of a piece of gossip Mokuba had once showed him: false rumors claiming that Kaiba was brimming with sexual desire who slept with the majority of his housekeepers, both male and female. Some of the cruder posts involved speculation towards exactly how Kaiba slept with them, one of which described a scene of Kaiba bending his maids and butlers over desks and tables to roughly have his way with them.

Mokuba had found the whole thing quite entertaining, and Kaiba, to be honest, did too, though he was decidedly less amused at the thought of Mokuba reading such base things. Though, it seemed now that one post wasn't completely far-fetched now.

Jounouchi would probably make a horrible maid who was actually charged with doing any proper housework, though.

Another moan from Jounouchi cut through the air as Jounouchi did his best to meet Kaiba's thrusts with his own hips, legs flexing nicely as he did so. To make it all the more difficult for Jounouchi, Kaiba took hold of one of his arms - enough immobility to give Jounouchi a greater sense of being bound which he seemed to like, while still leaving him a free arm to brace himself so Jounouchi could avoid being painfully rammed against the counter with each thrust.

And, to be honest, Kaiba also felt that it was added bonus that now Jounouchi wouldn't be able to touch himself without difficulty.

The hem of Jounouchi's dress brushed against Kaiba roughly which each thrust, its cheap material maid obvious from the thin, red marks left behind from the stiff tulle rubbing over him. It wasn't nearly enough to deter Kaiba, though, and Jounouchi didn't seem to notice it at all, either; his attention was instead focused on moaning out Kaiba's name wantonly as he did his best to move his hips in time with Kaiba's despite his trembling legs.

"Hey," Jounouchi grunted out suddenly, voice breathless but desperate to catch Kaiba's attention, "don't let me get the dress dirty. It's gonna cost me."

"I said I would pay for it all," Kaiba growled back with another deep thrust.

" _Fuck_ , fine, go ahead any pay for the dry-cleaning, then. I'll get myself mentally prepared for all the clean-up duty  at work I'll have to do in the meantime."

"It's nice to see you being so obedient for once."

This time, Jounouchi didn't even try to make a witty comeback. His body was trembling too hard and his mouth busy with needy mewls, which was probably good for Kaiba, in the end - he also wasn't exactly in the state to continue with witty banter.

Neither of them lasted much longer, and, against all odds, Jounouchi's dress seemed stain-free afterwards. With a heavy content sigh, Jounouchi slid slowly to the floor after Kaiba pulled away.

"Well, maybe those rumors about you really were true," Jounouchi whispered, a sly smile sneaking across his face despite his labored breathing and tousled hair.

A part of Kaiba really hated how Jounouchi, too, was apparently thinking about those damn rumors. "Please, if they really were true, don't you think more people would be making a bigger fuss out of it?"

"Well,  _I_ haven't made a fuss out of this yet, but that's also because I'm such a good person who doesn't kiss rich assholes and tell."

"I figured it was more because you weren't smart enough to come up with a plan like that." Kaiba paused, looking down at Jounouchi with his own satisfied smirk. "Or maybe I'm just such a good fuck that you don't want to risk losing this for chump change."

Jounouchi shrugged before slowly rising off the ground. Kaiba almost reached down to help him, but Jounouchi was already up by the time Kaiba convinced himself that it was fine. "I can't argue with any of that."

As Jounouchi gingerly walked away, dress still bunched up around his waist, the tulle and frills crumpled together haphazardly, and ass glistening from the quickly drying lube, Kaiba felt suddenly and offensively compelled to ask Jounouchi whether or not he did something like that with the elusive Mr. Reowae.

Thankfully, he did not.

Kaiba remained mostly silent as the two of them got cleaned up, Jounouchi holed up in the downstairs bathroom and Kaiba in his master bathroom upstairs, Chicos circling around him with wondering eyes all the while. He even managed to hold his tongue as Jounouchi slid under his covers beside Kaiba, as if he had been invited there.

He hadn't been, of course. Not explicitly, at least, but Kaiba's lack of protest was answer enough, in the end.

The fact that both Chicos and Jounouchi were so casually in bed with Kaiba was disconcerting, but less so than he expected. He decided to blame it on the slow-dwindling high from his orgasm and the fact that Jounouchi was just so warm and so golden.

 

* * *

 

 

The next morning, Jounouchi did not immediately hop and skip his way out of Kaiba's house like Kaiba had anticipated. In fact, as soon as Jounouchi had awoken, hours after Kaiba because Kaiba would never be able to sleep past seven, he had demanded to be fed.

Chicos, too, was quite hungry.

"It's weird to see you cooking something yourself," Jounouchi said from where he sat at the same countertop he had been fucked on top of yesterday which Kaiba, of course, had thoroughly cleaned. "I thought you'd be too good to do something so normal like this yourself."

"Like I told you before," Kaiba flipped another pancake, "just because I have a personal chef does not mean that I cannot or do not cook."

"That's for sure. These are pretty good."

Kaiba looked back and rolled his eyes. Each pancake disappeared into Jounouchi's bottomless stomach as soon as they were made, and Jounouchi was still ready for me. Kaiba couldn't remember Mokuba eating so much, even when he was in the middle of his big growth spurt.

The whole scene was just so disgustingly domestic, and it was something that Kaiba never would have imagined to be possible even weeks ago, yet it was easy, simple, and not completely disagreeable.

"Hey, you know what I'm really in the mood for?" Jounouchi's question cut through the easy peace lightly.

"More food?" Kaiba deadpanned.

"Well, yeah, but no. I'm really in the mood for a duel."

Kaiba paused, giving the last pancake one last flip. He was actually more in the mood for something heartier. "You might be a professional duelist now, but you're still just a deadbeat. I have no interest in dueling you."

There was only one person he was truly interested in dueling, anyway.

"Oh, come on," Jounouchi whined. "I may duel people in the pro league all the time, but you and I both know that most of them just fucking suck."

"I'm glad to see that you've realized that much about yourself," Kaiba said coolly.

Jounouchi rolled his eyes, shoveling another pancake into his mouth as Kaiba cracked a few eggs. "Yeah, yeah, say all you want, but even you have to admit that I had you on the ropes a few times back in the day."

"Don't kid yourself."

For the next few minutes, the only noises around them were the scraping of silverware and sizzle of the frying pan. With practiced efficiency - because when Mokuba had craved things as a young child, Kaiba had to make it quickly before Hobson or another one of Gozaburo's meddling housekeepers could stop him - Kaiba plated his own meal and sat down across from Jounouchi.

"You're really not going to duel me? If I'm still as bad as you say I am, then it really shouldn't be that big of a deal, should it?" Jounouchi huffed, leaning back from his now bone-dry plate.

Kaiba didn't respond, choosing instead to focus his attention on his meal. Jounouchi, in turn, lavished Chicos with affection once he realized that Kaiba wasn't going to give him the attention he wanted.

However, when Kaiba finished with a pointed click of his fork, Jounouch turned back to him, expectant.

"Alright," Kaiba said, "let's duel."

Jounouchi's smile said that he wasn't surprised at all by the turn of events, and his hair bounced with each pleased step he took towards his bag. Kaiba didn't want to think about how ridiculous it was for him to be giving in to such demands as he went to his own room to find his own deck, hidden away in a safe in his office.

The top of his deck was still pristine; despite its lack of use, Kaiba refused to let it sit and rot away, collecting dust as if it were a forgotten relic.

Even if Kaiba sometimes felt like that, his deck deserved better.

Once Kaiba had returned to the kitchen, the duel started with little pretense. There were no holograms or distractions from Yugi's usual motley crew or the other eccentrics who flocked to him in a quick, steady stream. It was just the two of them and their decks.

It was nothing like the duels they had had before, but Kaiba felt a distinct prickle of nostalgia run rampant under his skin at the sight of their cards: a Time Wizard, Lord of D., Panther Warrior, a Luster Dragon.

Red-eyes and blue-eyes. 

No magicians.

The duel lasted longer than Kaiba had anticipated. Jounouchi, it seemed, was actually beginning to understand the concept of a planned strategy, as opposed to fighting just to make it to the next turn.

Of course, Kaiba ultimately won.

" _Fuck_ , not this again," Jounouchi groaned, running a hand through his hair roughly after Kaiba's last attack. "Those damn _dragons_ of yours, not to mention your Enemy Controller. You put more of those in your deck, didn't you?"

"You act as if your deck doesn't feature a few dragons of its own," Kaiba responded as he carefully collected his cards. "Though your deck doesn't use them to their full potential nearly as well as mine."

"Yeah, but that's because I don't have a raging hard-on for dragons like you do." Jounouchi sighed, but his eyes looked pleased. "But my Red-Eyes Black Chick and all that was pretty cool, right?"

"It was decent," Kaiba said reluctantly. "But those dice cards are still in your deck, I see."

Jounouchi grinned. "I know they're not the best, but I can't bear to give them up now."

"And that thinking is why you'll always be a deadbeat."

Jounouchi shrugged, still smiling. "Hey, those cards have helped me more than hurt me for years, so I think they still deserve a spot in my deck."

Kaiba scoffed, even though he too couldn't imagine Jounouchi's deck without them.

Jounouchi had only stayed for a bit longer than that before finally leaving Kaiba's penthouse with a wink and sharp laugh, eyes glinting with satisfaction as he pocketed the promised check that Kaiba wrote for him, scraps of fabric and dirty dishes left behind in his wake.

As he was cleaning, Kaiba realized that he had forgotten to ask Jounouchi about Charles Reowae. He made a mental reminder to do so later, formulating casual but calculating questions to avoid raising suspicion because Jounouchi had apparently become annoyingly perceptive over the years.

Except, before Kaiba even had the chance to ask his questions, a certain Charles Reowae was in front of his Kaiba Corp office, suited and situated for business.

Real business, this time, not the incomprehensible personal business that was creeping between Kaiba and Jounouchi.

"Mr. Kaiba, it's nice to meet you. I'm glad such a prestigious company like Kaiba Corporation is considering doing business with me," Mr. Reowae intoned smoothly, eyes crinkled with graceful age as he smiled.

Kaiba suddenly wished that he had followed Mokuba's teasing suggestion of keeping whiskey in his office because it would have been quite for such an occasion.

"Of course, Mr. Reowae," Kaiba had managed to ground out despite his overwhelming soberness. "Please, take a sit. We have much to discuss."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen i love jounouchi but like... he has no ass
> 
> also i don't even know what's happening in this story anymore LOL
> 
> probably because i never update it, my bad


	7. Chapter 7

Kaiba wondered who he was going to have to fire because someone definitely fucked up somewhere considering Charles Reowae was in Kaiba's office, uninvited and unexpected.

After that, his next few thoughts centered around how Charles Reowae, despite his age, really was quite attractive. After his first half-encounter with him after one of Jounouchi's duels, Kaiba had fought hard to convince himself that, if he had more time to look at Reowae more carefully, he would actually find that the man was nothing special.

Except, he still looked infuriatingly good, and he actually did look a bit like what Kaiba imagined he might look like when he grew older.

Kaiba didn't want to think about what that implied about Jounouchi. It made him feel too suspiciously good. 

"My apologies for the sudden intrusion," the other man said smoothly, blue eyes piercing, a touch of calculating appraisal skimming the surface of his gaze. "I had no intention of catching you unaware."

Kaiba reprimanded himself internally. The man in front of him was obviously someone who knew how to play the game of well-dressed, derisive men well - of course he did, he never would have so effortlessly established himself as an international player if he didn't - and Kaiba was already losing his footing on the playing board by being so openly taken aback.

Kaiba collected himself quickly, returning Reowae's gaze with a cool gaze. "It's fine." Kaiba deliberated for a moment whether or not he should reveal that he already knew who Reowae was, whether or not his earlier research on the man would be seen as an act born from apprehension from the weak. In the end, he settled for doing so anyway as a sign of foresight after his earlier show of ignorant vulnerability. "I assume you are here to discuss some legalities with me?"

Beyond that, Kaiba couldn't fathom why Reowae was suddenly here.

"Yes, that is correct," Reowae waited for Kaiba to take a seat at his desk before he himself took a seat on the couch, back straight and posture prepared. The height difference between Kaiba's desk and the couch put Kaiba at a clear advantage, but Reowae looked unbothered. "Pegasus asked me to come speak to you for a bit about potential legal issues that may arise if the online Duel Monsters database were to be implemented."

"I see." So, Pegasus did have something to do with all of this. That old man, probably bored now that he wasn't concocting horribly-designed dueling tournaments to fuel his kidnapping attempts for whatever he was trying to accomplish, was stirring up trouble.

It wasn't the first time that Kaiba had regretted giving Pegasus a direct line of contact with his personal secretary, but the hell Pegasus would raise otherwise was just too unbearable.

"However, I have an in-house legal team to consult for matters such as these. Quite frankly, I see no reason for you to be here," Kaiba continued blandly.

Reowae didn't even flinch. Instead, he flashed Kaiba a diplomatic smile and leaned forward, body language guarded. "I'm sure you do, but Pegasus asked that I come anyway so that we could become acquainted, seeing as I'll be working on the project on his end, anyway. Furthermore, Pegasus wasn't sure at what caliber your legal team was, so he suggested that I come and speak with you, just in case." His grin grew brighter. "You are aware of my qualifications and numerous accolades, are you not?"

Kaiba seethed, but he refused to let the raging heat building up in his throat escape as he responded. "Yes, I am quite aware. Why is Pegasus himself not here for this, though, if he has such strong opinions about the matter?"

"He is, regrettably, busy today discussing a few things with a Mr. Siegfried von Schroeder," Reowae replied seamlessly, smile still on and easy.

Kaiba seethed even hotter. Pegasus really was just playing with him because he knew that Pegasus didn't care at all about Siegfried and his horrible attempts at trying to toe his way into Kaiba's field, but he  _did_ know just how much Kaiba detested that spineless stain masquerading as a man. "That is regrettable."

"As a result, it's just me today." Reowae's plastered-on smile took turn towards taunting. "I hope that doesn't intimidate you."

It was no wonder Pegasus chose Reowae to be his main corporate lawyer for Industrial Illusions - they were both infuriating.

"Why would it?" Kaiba retorted. "Now, what exactly did you want to discuss with me?"

The conversation that followed was far less rife with hidden barbs and traps, though Kaiba didn't feel for a moment any less on edge. Pegasus and Reowae were apparently concerned about the greater risk of cheating and hacking that the online database might allow for, specifically for personal and payment information.

"I highly doubt that any of these possibilities will actually prove themselves to be major issues," Kaiba said afterwards. "My team of engineers, software developers, and de-buggers are all extremely skilled and aware of these things. They have been extensively trained and are paid handsomely to prevent such mistakes or holes."

"But hacking incidents have happened before, have they not?" Reowae countered smoothly. "So, in the case that they happen again," and Kaiba did not appreciate the way he said 'again', "then it's in all of our best interests to have a legal plan in place, especially seeing how this proposal of yours will involve Industrial Illusions more closely than before."

Kaiba also did not enjoy the way Reowae drawled out the word 'proposal', as if Kaiba's ingenious idea of helping Duel Monsters continue to advance technologically alongside the rest of the world was nothing more than a child's fanciful thoughts of a paltry invention.

Pegasus was aggravating to worth with, but, at the end of the day, he was always open and intent on listening to Kaiba's ideas because he _knew_ that Kaiba knew what he was doing. Despite his inane games, Pegasus still respected Kaiba's business, and that was exactly what kept their business partnership alive.

Charles Reowae, on the other hand, clearly thought of Kaiba as nothing more than a child desperately trying to claw and coo his way through the business realm, despite that fact that Reowae, too, was doing just the same decades ago. In fact, Kaiba already had a fortune to his name, while Reowae was only just starting to amass his wealth when he was Kaiba's age, so who was Reowae to look down on Kaiba like that?

Still, no matter what he did, no matter how _well_ he did, he would never accept it, would never respect him, Gozaburo would never -

Kaiba's mind reeled as he abruptly stopped his own train of thought, head anchored down by making sure that Reowae hadn't noticed a thing.

It didn't seem like Reowae had spotted the reel of Kaiba's mind, but he was clearly skilled at hiding his expression. Even so, Reowae didn't look anymore unimpressed with Kaiba than he had been previously, so at least it wasn't another loss for Kaiba.

"Yes, that sounds acceptable," Kaiba finally replied, voice firm. "It's always for the best to be prepared for the worst."

"I'm glad you think so," Reowae responded. "I'd be worried if you didn't."

Finally, their sorry excuse for a meeting finished, and Reowae was soon to be own his way. Kaiba was already formulating what he would say to Pegasus the next time he saw him when Reowae began walking away, except his thoughts were, once again, abruptly cut short when Reowae opened his office door to reveal Jounouchi, all golden and aghast.

It seemed they all were. Aghast, that is. Not golden. If there were any more gold rays in Kaiba's line of sight, he might have just cried, and that would've be extremely embarrassing.

The first one the break the stillness that had overcome them all was Jounouchi. All it took was the scrunch of his nose and downturn of his mouth to set everyone in motion.

"Jounouchi, this is a pleasant surprise," Reowae said, hastily rushing to Jounouchi's side. "Do you happen to have some free time later today? I'd love to speak with you. I can even take you to that Indian restaurant you like so much."

Jounouchi spared Kaiba a single glance, slightly desperate, but mostly annoyed. Kaiba figured that Jounouchi probably had the situation under control, though, so he continued to sit back at watch. The look of betrayal that crossed Jounouchi's face was quite amusing to watch. 

Kaiba also watched how Reowae's entire demeanor had changed almost instantly after seeing Jounouchi; his tone was softer, body language open and inviting, and his gaze was gentle and, dare Kaiba say it, undeniably infatuated.

Jounouchi, on the other hand, was his usual bratty self. "No, I do not happen to have free time, not now or later. I'm here for some _personal_ business with Kaiba over there," Jounouchi sent a halfway pleading glance Kaiba's way, which Kaiba responded with mild interest, "so I'd greatly appreciate it if you left the premises."

Reowae's hesitation was laughably obvious considering how aloof he was with Kaiba just moments ago, but he eventually conceded in the fact of Jounouchi's obstinate dismissal.

"Alright," Reowae sighed, placing his hand on Jounouchi's shoulder. Jounouchi shrugged it off angrily, glare growing harder at the touch. "I'll be in touch."

"As if I asked you to be," Jounouchi huffed.

They both watched Reowae leave and, as soon as he was out of their sight, Jounouchi slammed Kaiba's office door closed, much to Kaiba's chagrin, before collapsing onto Kaiba's couch with a long, angry groan.

To be honest, Kaiba would've loved to be able to do the same, but he instead leaned back against his desk quietly, arms crossed as he waited for Jounouchi to speak. Jounouchi was never good at keeping quiet for very long, after all.

"So," Jounouchi began after he had had enough of glaring at Kaiba's office ceiling, "what was _he_ doing here?"

"Discussing some potential legal issues with me," Kaiba breezed, pushing himself away from his desk, walking towards Jounouchi in a few strides, "per Pegasus' request."

" _God_ , of course it was 'per Pegasus' request.'"

"Now, tell me, what are you doing here?"

"I told you. I'm here on personal business."

"I don't recall personally inviting you here."

"Are you saying that you _aren't_ looking forward to bending me off your desk and having your way with me?" Jounouchi teased, grin sharp as he looked at Kaiba with mock seductive eyes.

"I can do that at home," Kaiba deadpanned.

Jounouchi barked out a laugh, body going from hesitantly guarded to sprawling leisure. "I can't say that you're wrong."

"So? What are you really here for, then?"

With a long roll of his eyes, Jounouchi sat up, leaning towards Kaiba angrily. "I was also sent here by Pegasus to discuss stuff with you, even though running errands like this isn't even the kind of stuff he's paying me for. He said he was too busy to do it himself and insisted that I go talk to you about it as soon as possible."

Jounouchi growled, flicking his head to the side sharply. "Of course, Pegasus didn't feel the need to tell me that he had also sent someone else to come visit you today."

Jounouchi's anger, hot and sunbeam bright was palpable. And familiar. A hint of something predictable wedged between all of the new nuances Jounouchi was throwing Kaiba's way. Kaiba wanted to bask in the warm rage.

But he shouldn't. Jounouchi was simmering in front of him, fueled by Pegasus' need to meddle in everything around him and the sight of Reowae all but begging Jounouchi to go on a date with him.

Kaiba doubted he would be able to glean much from Jounouchi in terms of Reowae's attachment to him, but he could still learn what Pegasus wanted from him.

"Oh, right," Jounouchi said, eyes wide as if he had already completely forgotten about the whole thin. Honestly, it wasn't hard to believe that he actually had forgotten amidst the piercing glance he had shot Reowae's way. "Pegasus wanted me to tell you that he wants you to set up another duel tournament to help introduce and market your new duel disk idea. Designed and marketed by Kaiba Corp, but backed by Industrial Illusions, or something like that."

Kaiba didn't respond for some time. He stared at Jounouchi, unimpressed, and Jounouchi stared back, unconcerned.

"That's it?" Kaiba finally said, incredulous. "That's what he wanted you to discuss with me on such short notice?"

Jounouchi shrugged, posture relaxing again. Maybe Kaiba's disbelief calmed him. "Hey, I don't call the shots. I'm not some hotshot CEO."

"But you came to tell me that anyway?"

"Look, Pegasus may not pay me to be his little messenger boy, but I also don't want to risk making him stop paying me at all for not doing what he wants. Besides, it's not like it was all that hard to find you." He paused to scowl. "Though, I don't appreciate Pegasus sending me over here just to fuck with me."

Kaiba had to agree, but he didn't say that. Instead, he asked, "How did you manage to get here?"

"Mokuba brought me here. He saw your security guards arguing with me and helped rescue me from their annoying clutches."

Of course Mokuba led Jounouchi to Kaiba's office. He was always fond of Yugi and his rag-tag group of friends, though Kaiba never quite understood why.

"Anyway, that's all I really came here to do." Jounouchi rose with an exhale, already heading for the door before even pretending to take Kaiba's reaction into consideration. "So, I'll be heading out now. I'm a little pissed from what just happened, so I think it's time for me to go have a talk with Pegasus. Or maybe just take a nap."

The only thing Jounouchi spared Kaiba before walking through the door was a single glance backward, eyes golden and too bright as the light filtering through the large window flitted across his face.

Jounouchi really was upset. There was apprehension in his eyes and bitter frustration etched in the corners of his mouth, made tight by the half-assed smile tearing across his face. Kaiba had never quite seen such a look on Jounouchi's face before, but the mood was vaguely reminiscent of his own memories filled with avoidant desperation broken by the inability to escape.

As infuriating as Reowae had been towards Kaiba, he had been as sweet as sugar-spun candied plums towards Jounouchi. So, Kaiba couldn't imagine why Jounouchi would be so hostile towards the one person who seemed content to weave tapestries of wanting looks for him.

Jounouchi had always been vulnerable towards people who paid him any attention when they were younger, after all.

He was able to get a sense for why a few moments later, though.

"Honda," Kaiba's voice was a low-tone of displeasure, a mood that was becoming increasingly persistent, "what are _you_ doing here?"

Kaiba had never been one to enjoy the company of others, and that was especially true when that company entailed unannounced and infuriating people parading through his office as if on a carousel of unpleasant surprises.

Gozaburo had always enjoyed ambushing Kaiba with unexpected visitors. He would throw Kaiba in front of them, like a bow-legged colt up for slaughter, and see how well Kaiba could hold up against their earsplitting scrutiny after days of little food and even less sleep.

Don't show weakness, and don't say anything damning. Feed them carefully-curated stock answers, force it down their throats with a wide funnel and plenty of scorching-hot water to help them wash it down.

That was what being a good host was all about, after all.

That was what being the heir to the Kaiba Corporation, so kindly adopted despite being the most ungrateful little brat was all about, after all.

Kaiba stopped and forced himself to breathe.

Honda studied Kaiba silently. Kaiba never exactly thought of Honda as a particularly intelligent person, but he had always been more perceptive than Jounouchi and more suspicious, too.

"Well?" Kaiba grit out. "Did you come here just to stare at me?"

"Mokuba brought me here," Honda finally said, slowly making his way into Kaiba's office from the doorway, eyes fixed on Kaiba's face. "He thought it would be nice for us to chat after I finished my interview."

Apparently, Mokuba was also hard at work meddling in Kaiba's life, though his efforts were more rooted in kindness than petty amusement. Regardless, it was annoying.

"You need more friends," Mokuba liked to complain, routinely interrupting Kaiba's work. "Or else you're going to be even lonelier _and_ grumpier when you get older."

"I'm not lonely." Kaiba couldn't argue against the grumpy part, but at least he could say that much.

Mokuba would just roll his eyes Kaiba's way before skulking off, slouching despite Kaiba's constant warnings against poor posture. "If you say so."

At the very least, he wasn't so lonely that he was scrambling to Honda's side at the hopes he would be Kaiba's newest best friend.

"I saw Jounouchi leave her earlier." Honda paused, waiting for Kaiba's reaction. When Kaiba didn't comply, he continued. "And I also saw Charles Reowae leaving the building before that."

Kaiba hoped that his expression didn't betray his sudden, gripping desperate desire to sit Honda down and clasp his hands painfully over his shoulders as Kaiba dug his fingers in fierce as he demanded more information from Honda because no one else was telling him what he wanted to know. Kaiba couldn't even tell himself _why_ he wanted to know so badly, but it shredded its way up his throat, and heat flickered across the back of his eyes.

Thankfully, Honda didn't seem to notice anything. If he had, Kaiba doubted he would still be standing their so calmly.

"Yes, what about it?" Kaiba finally said, voice level and smooth. "They both had business with me on behalf of Pegasus."

Gozaburo would've been proud, while Mokuba probably would've complained even more about how Kaiba wasn't doing himself any favors by hiding his emotions so much.

But it was hard to be so open.

It was scary.

Honda was, irritatingly, silent once again. He kept almost speaking, though, mouth opening with a soft inhale every so often before closing it again with a heavy exhale. Kaiba wanted to demand that he get over whatever was holding him back, but he didn't want to offend Honda with his impatience. Not today, at least.

Eventually, Honda found the nerve to articulate himself. "Has Jounouchi told you much about Charles Reowae?"

Kaiba found it curious that it was so natural for Honda to assume that Jounouchi would ever talk about an old _lover_ of his with someone like Kaiba. Was Jounouchi going around kissing and telling?

No, probably not. Jounouchi, for as insufferable and uninhibited he was about matters that really needed to be kept quiet, wasn't usually that bad. Besides, Jounouchi was annoyingly better at keeping secrets now. If anything, Jounouchi might've let slip that he was in fairly regular contact with Kaiba, almost acquaintances perhaps, but likely not much more than that.

"Briefly." Absolute honesty was usually not the tactic Kaiba went for, but this was Honda. What could he possibly do to Kaiba? His friends, bound together by cheesy righteousness, would never let him to anything to Kaiba, even if he wanted to. "I know that they were previously... involved with each other."

Honda nodded. Then, tilted his head to the side with a scowl. "They were never really dating, though."

"Yes, that's what I came to understand about it from what I've been told."

Pegasus had also told Kaiba that Reowae was all but smitten with Jounouchi, but how much did that matter when Jounouchi was so flippant about the whole thing?

"Reowae was really invested in it, though," Honda continued. "Really wanted to get in Jounouchi's life. He almost insisted on it. Jounouchi hadn't expected him to get so serious."

"What do you mean?" Kaiba asked. "How do you know all of this?"

"I'm Jounouchi's friend," Honda answered, as if Kaiba had asked the most ridiculously stupid question he had ever heard. Maybe, to Honda, it really was. "And he was having trouble, so he wanted to talk to me about it."

"Trouble?"

"Well, he didn't actually give me many details about it. Just suddenly told me that the whole thing with Reowae was getting to be too much for him a few months into their relationship, or whatever it was. After that, he would get pissed and moody with me every time I even mentioned Reowae, so I just stopped. But, it seems like Jounouchi doesn't want anything to do with him anymore."

Kaiba took a moment to let the words settle around them before speaking. "And why are you telling me this?"

"I just thought it would be helpful if you knew," Honda replied easily. "If you and Jounouchi are going to be talking to each other more often -"

For a moment, Kaiba was _infuriated_. Was Jounouchi really going around regaling his friends with tales of their encounters? If there was anyone Kaiba figured wouldn't jump at the chance to share such details, he thought it would be Jounouchi.

He was pissed and close to shaking because what was the point if even Jounouchi was just going to air out Kaiba's dirty laundry like none of it even mattered?

"- because of Pegasus, especially if he's also sending Reowae your way." Honda finished, unaware of Kaiba's tumbling thoughts.

Ah, yes. Because of Pegasus. That's what Kaiba had told Honda just minutes earlier, wasn't it? Kaiba's train of thought stopped so fast he though his head was going to snap right off from the force of it all.

His head was still there, though, and his temples were pounding.

Maybe Mokuba had a point. Maybe it wasn't good for Kaiba to keep repressing his emotions so much. It made him volatile and cliche.

"You don't think Jounouchi can handle his own interpersonal issues himself?" Kaiba asked.

Honda shrugged, eyes exasperated and unconvinced. "Let's be honest, Jounouchi is pretty dumb. If we all left him to do whatever he wanted without watching out for him, he would probably run himself right into the middle of every shitty situation he could possibly find."

It was a strange feeling, but Kaiba completely agreed with Honda.

"Alright," Kaiba managed to force out of his over-full lungs that somehow still left him gasping for air, "I'll keep that in mind."

In mind for what, exactly, Kaiba wasn't sure, but Honda seemed pleased regardless. He probably wasn't even aware that, while he had revealed a number of things, Honda still hadn't actually explained what any of it truly meant. That was fine, though. He probably didn't even know what it all truly meant.

Though, unfortunately, Kaiba didn't either.

After saying his piece, Honda left Kaiba's office looking pleased with himself, leaving Kaiba behind to nurse a shrieking headache and digest a new slab of information that barely made any sense.

Except, there was one more thing he needed to do before that.

"Mokuba," Kaiba ground out tiredly after hearing Mokuba's cheery voice from the other side of the phone receiver, "you need to stop sending random people into my office."

"Aww, but wasn't it fun to talk to them again?"

"No. No, it was not."

 

* * *

 

"The first thing Pegasus has asked me when I want to bitch at him was, 'Oh, but wasn't it nice to see Kaiba at work? Did you get to play out a nice role-playing scene with him as the CEO?'" Jounouchi slammed his spoon down onto his plate harshly, flinching away at the resulting ting. The other patrons in the restaurant turned to look at him, displeased. Jounouchi's returning glance was sheepish.

"His response to me was fairly similar," Kaiba said, omitting the fact that Pegasus had been more detailed when questioning Kaiba.

"I don't need Jounouchi's ass prints messing up any of the important data I have on my desk," Kaiba had answered derisively after Pegasus had finally stopped firing off his mocking questions Kaiba's way.

"Oh, please. That's what back-up's are for," was Pegasus' response.

"God, that man needs a new hobby," Jounouchi grumbled around the curry rice still tucked away in his cheek. "I don't understand how he can be almost nice for weeks before suddenly pulling a stunt like this."

"I can't recall a time that he's ever been halfway decent."

Kaiba spooned his own curry rice into his mouth at Jounouchi's scoff, delicate to Jounouchi's haphazard. It tasted than he expected. The other diners paid them little mind now that Jounouchi wasn't making a scene.

"You know, most people really don't care that much about you," Jounouchi had said after they had received little fanfare upon walking into the crowded little restaurant Jounouchi had dragged him to a few days later. "As long as you keep making duel disks without being too much of an asshole, we regular people more than happy to leave you alone to duke it out with other rich folks if you keep us out of it."

He didn't say as much, but Kaiba appreciated it. He appreciated their complete disinterest despite his lack of anonymity. The fact that, to these people, he was good enough doing what he was already doing. That they weren't constantly trying to wheedle their way into Kaiba's good graces, his company, his stocks, his bed.

He appreciated the fact that, to Jounouchi, Kaiba was still just one more rich asshole in his life, even after sneaking his way into Kaiba's bed.

"Anyway, I wanted to ask, what are your thoughts on the tournament idea Pegasus had?" Jounouchi asked, plate already cleared.

"Not much."

"I think it would be a good idea," Jounouchi said, locking his eyes on Kaiba's face as if he were trying to will Kaiba into changing his mind by the power of his gaze.

Kaiba would never admit it out loud, but something about it really was quite compelling.

"Trying to make yourself relevant by associating yourself with Industrial Illusions _and_ Kaiba Corp?" Kaiba asked instead.

"That's not a bad idea," Jounouchi said, planting his elbows on the table and lacing his fingers together so he could lean forward and rest his chin on them. "But, I was thinking it'd be a nice way for you to get back into the dueling world."

Kaiba's throat locked, and it felt like his appendix was trying to dislodge itself from the base of his abdomen through his lungs.

He slowly set his spoon down and tried not to immediately storm out of the building. Jounouchi would nag at him for days if he did.

"I'm not interested in dueling anymore," Kaiba finally responded. He could barely even stand to look at Jounouchi, and instead glanced to the side. However, from what he could see, Jounouchi was looking at him as if he actually understood what Kaiba was feeling.

"Alright, that's fine," Jounouchi said. It didn't sound as raucous as usual, though. "You can do whatever you want with your own money, after all."

The mood was awkward, but Kaiba didn't know how to salvage it.

He didn't need to, in the end. After a quick glance at his phone, Jounouchi suddenly bolted out of his seat. "Oh, shit, I hadn't realized how late it'd gotten. I gotta go pick up Shizuka from the train station. She's coming to visit for awhile, so I'm gonna be a bit busy these next few days trying to be a good big brother for once."

Before Kaiba could say anything in response, Jounouchi was already bolting out of the door, throwing a small handful of money on the table. "I'll see you again later, though!"

Kaiba didn't want to think about how easy it was to accept that, yes, he would almost undoubtedly see Jounouchi again sooner or later. He didn't want to think about how eating out with Jounouchi had been so simple and comfortable, or why it even mattered.

He didn't want to think about how his bed felt startlingly empty without Jounouchi, even with Chico's sprawling herself large right in the middle of it.

Kaiba didn't want to think about any of that, even though, when he did, it didn't seem all that bad.

"You can't hide it from me, you know," Mokuba had once said, gazing at Kaiba sadly. "And, you know, it's really not so bad to go out and just let yourself be open to people. Things are different now. You can let him go."

Kaiba still hated how everyone around him seemed so much more maddeningly perceptive, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the drama and confusion continue!!!
> 
> ahahaha but really, it's just everyone being moody
> 
> anyway, let me know what you think! i hope this chapter isn't too slow?


	8. Chapter 8

With not much more coaxing from Pegasus, Kaiba eventually agreed to the dueling tournament. The first semi-working prototype for the new Duel Disk System had barely been completed, and the online database only just set up and tested for basic functionality, but they were going ahead regardless.

Nevertheless, Pegasus was absolutely beaming with irritatingly bright eagerness, ready for the whole thing to happen as quickly as possible. Even if that meant that it was bound to be at least slightly disastrous.

"Oh, come now, Kaiba," Pegasus had said, twirling around Kaiba in an attempt to catch his eyes. Kaiba was steadfast in his determination to, for once, not cave into Pegasus' ridiculous desires and even more absurd demands. "I'm sure that a number of improvements will have been implemented in time for the tournament. Besides, everyone has been hoping for another Kaiba Corporation offical Duel Tournament for years! Leave them waiting much longer, and you might lose favor with them."

Kaiba highly doubted that. His products by themselves were more than enough to tempt people into happily funneling money into his company, as they always had. He had noticed a bit of a spike in Kaiba Corporation's stock prices after the tentative announcement of the tournament, though. There hadn't even been a set date for it, and only the bare minimum details had been revealed. Still, people were already discussing the tournament and its featured products online with a voracity that, admittedly, fed Kaiba's ego towards something almost like satiety.

He didn't like to admit it, but Kaiba would never be one to turn down praise. Praise for his work, the spectacular rise of Kaiba Corporation after tearing it wrenching it out and tearing it down from Gozaburo's hands. Praise for his appearance, his new physique that was even more toned than before that he spent hours in the gym for.

All the praise that he had never gotten before. Not enough to completely fill the hungry void desperately reaching for more, hopeful with the disgustingly dreamy eyes of an unknowing child, but sometimes enough to keep it quiet long enough for Kaiba to breathe.

And then even more, something deeper and carnal that twisted Kaiba with indignity but fueled him with even greater calm. Praise for the press of his body against another's, a slow, deliberate lick across an expanse of lightly sun-kissed skin, quickly roving fingers over and in, all punctuated by brown eyes that had no business being so -

"You'd think people would keep their pockets closed until the first big reveal for the new Duel Disk and whatnot had actually happened, but who am I to go around trying to police people about what they do with their own money?"

Slowly, Kaiba flitted his gaze Jounouchi's direction. His thoughts halted and somersaulted, but it was what he needed as he took in the sight before him and not the unnecessary images tearing through his mind.

This wasn't the first time that Jounouchi had sat in his office, legs slung over one of the couch's armrests lazily, the loose threads of his faded jeans catching on the leather. It also wouldn't be the last.

"Just have Jounouchi be one of your featured duelists," Pegasus had said, his voice hardly more than an easy breeze, lilting with amusement and the knowledge that Kaiba would oblige. "He's become a fairly well-known professional in his own right. Not to mention, he's popular with the general public, which will probably draw its own crowd and cash. There's no reason why you shouldn't, right?"

As Pegasus had expected, Kaiba couldn't come up with any good reasons against having Jounouchi as a part of the tournament. He _was_ a better duelist than before, and, even more than that, his popularity was rising enough that even Kaiba had heard hints about it. Mostly from Mokuba, but also a bit from his own employees as they whispered and sneaked glances at Jounouchi's duels during their breaks.

In the end, Jounouchi had agreed on it by the end of that same day, and the matter had been settled. All Kaiba could do was stomp into his penthouse before collapsing with a heavy sigh and pulsing headache. The drinks that he had quickly thrown back did nothing for his headache, but they did calm his rattling nerves, even if only for a few hours.

Then, the next day, past his headache that was quickly sinking deep into a migraine, Kaiba had fished out the phone number he had hid away and called Jounouchi to set up a time for their first meeting.

"Kaiba? How did you get my number?" Jounouchi had asked. His background sounded bustling, and Jounouchi faintly heard a familiar voice. Jounouchi's sister, he soon realized.

"You gave it to me," Kaiba had reminded, voice flat.

A pause as Jounouchi quickly said something to someone else before returning to the call. The sound of Jounouchi's footsteps grew louder as the noise around him had faded. "Oh yeah! Sorry, it's been awhile, so I forgot. Anyway, what are you calling for?"

"I'd like to set up a meeting," Kaiba had said, opening up his calendar, "to discuss the upcoming tournament."

Another short pause before Jounouchi had let out an amused snort. "For a moment I thought you were trying to schedule a formal meeting for us to fuck, as if I were some fancy escort, and I was about to get pissed."

"As if you could ever be considered a high-class escort."

Jounouchi had huffed out another laugh before quickly setting up a meeting time and rushing to hang up and get back to his sister.

And now here Jounouchi was, encroaching even further into Kaiba's life.

Kaiba wasn't sure if he had ever spent as much time in someone else's presence besides Mokuba before all of this had started. He wasn't sure who to blame for it.

"The tournament isn't going to happen for a few months, right? So I don't see why we have to make such a big deal out of it already." Jounouchi shifted a bit, taking one of his legs off of the armrest so he could face Kaiba better. Now he was staring up at Kaiba in an absolutely ridiculous pose - legs spread as one of them remained splayed over the couch while the other one was planted on the floor.

If Kaiba didn't enjoy the stretch of Jounouchi's legs so much, he would've gone over himself to force Jounouchi into sitting like a normal, well-mannered person. Instead, he rolled his eyes and let Jounouchi do as he pleased. He suspected that Jounouchi would either way.

"You make it sound like a few months is a lot of time to set up for something like this," Kaiba said coolly.

"Isn't it? I feel like you probably cranked out the Battle City Tournament in a few days."

Kaiba let out an offended growl. "I'll have you know that Battle City Tournament took weeks of meticulous planning to get ready."

"Could've fooled me," Jounouchi quipped in response. "It was pretty simple, after all. Didn't seem like all that much thought had gone into it."

"That just goes to show how well-planned it was. No one likes an event that feels too eventful."

"Whatever you say," Jounouchi said in response, the sharp upturn of his voice making it very clear that he was far from convinced.

"Well, if you are just _that_ unimpressed with the way I conduct my tournaments, here's your chance to help plan your own," Kaiba said, standing up from his desk. He didn't move towards Jounouchi, however. Not yet, at least, but he still enjoyed being able to look down at him, even if from afar.

With an almost comically endearing puff up of his chest, Jounouchi let out a burdened sigh as he finally seated himself normally.

Kaiba hated the brief flash of disappointment that shot through him at Jounouchi's new position. And yet, there it was.

"But I'm not getting paid to be one of your hot-shot event planners," Jounouchi said, "so I still don't really get why I'm here."

"Just because you're not actually on the event coordination team doesn't mean that you don't have to know exactly what the tournament is going to entail," Kaiba said as he finally began walking over to Jounouchi. "You are going to be one of the guests of honor, after all."

"And what a surprise that was," Jounouchi said, leaning towards him after Kaiba stopped in front of Jounouchi. "I never imagined that you of all people would be asking me to help headline one of your big dueling tournaments, especially not your first one in years."

"Pegasus insisted that you be a central part of the tournament. He was quite adamant about having a duelist sponsored by Industrial Illusions be a main focus," Kaiba said.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, Pegasus is leading you around by your damn balls. What else is new?"

Instead of letting Jounouchi get to him once more, Kaiba let the comment roll over him, only leaving a few openings for the indignation to seep in; it was still there, but not enough to truly sting after Kaiba's ego soaked it up and spit it back out into something more manageable. After spending so much time with Jounouchi recently, albeit sporadically and often not exactly fond, Kaiba had come to something akin to a halting understanding of Jounouchi's habits.

Like a wary cat, Jounouchi liked to hiss, hide, and hurl his way through unfamiliar people with snark and taunts, all while gazing out with his glowing eyes and ever-so-slightly teasing smirk. Not mean enough to be truly cruel, but with enough nastiness to leave a sting on the shallow wound left behind. It was infuriating and near unbearable, but if one withstood it for long enough, then they would be graced with a gentle purr and warm body curled up against their own before long.

Thankfully, Chicos had been nothing like that. She had been a bright-eyed, innocent little kitten when Kaiba had first brought her home, eager to play and just be happy.

Of course, it was no surprise that Jounouchi would be difficult.

"At least I get more say in my own business affairs than you do," Kaiba responded, still looking down at Jounouchi from where he stood. "As opposed to having to bitch and moan to my sponsor about how I don't want to be yanked around by him anymore, only to begrudgingly agree at the threat of losing your sponsorship." He allowed himself his own teasing grin as he held Jounouchi's gaze. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"So it really was you Pegasus was on the phone with when I went to complain to him about it," Jounouchi grumbled, lowering his gaze for just a moment. It seemed that even Jounouchi knew when he was beat. His subtle admittance warmed Kaiba. "He told me he had hung up, but the situation was probably too fun for him to actually hang up."

"And now we are both stuck here with this," Kaiba said, backing away from Jounouchi slightly now that he had won this little tiff.

"I guess what Pegasus wants, Pegasus gets," Jounouchi muttered. "I don't think he would ever stop sponsoring me completely, but I wouldn't put it past him to throw a hissy fit and cut my profits. The least _you_ could do, though, is stock your office with better snacks."

"You seemed to have enjoyed them well enough, considering how quickly you inhaled them all," Kaiba said, sauntering back to his desk. He had finally managed to reign in Jounouchi's attention and felt safe enough with that to return to his desk to do some actual work. "Now, don't you think it's time that we begin discussing the tournament?"

"Fine, but I still don't see why you need me here for that right now. You don't even have anything planned yet, do you?"

"It's too early to do much planning without any of the products ready yet. However, seeing as your one of our star duelists, I wanted to ask you first if there was anything you had strong opinions on. Anything that you absolutely do or don't want, and then we can take that into consideration when we do start outlining the tournament."

Kaiba had finished speaking at the same time he had returned to his desk. From there, he could see Jounouchi pondering Kaiba's words.

"I haven't really thought about it," Jounouchi said, head cocked slightly to the side. His hair, now longer than usual, brushed against his smooth neck gently. A strand of it fell as Jounouchi straightened his glance. The movement was smooth, understated, barely-there. Despite that, Kaiba still latched onto it and savored it in its passing.

Small, soft snippets like these did not come between them easily. But, when they did, Kaiba couldn't help but watch.

"That's fine. We have some more time before I have to get ready for my next meeting. If you think of anything before then, let me know. If you don't, tell me whatever you come up with the next time we meet," Kaiba replied. Jounouchi's neck was now bare, and Kaiba wondered how long it would be until Jounouchi got his hair cut.

Ultimately, Jounouchi hadn't come up with anything by the end of their meeting.

"I'll let you know when our next meeting will be within the week," Kaiba said as he watched Jounouchi rise from the couch with an indulgent stretch. "I hope you'll have some ideas by then."

"No promises, though. I'm really not that picky."

"And still you somehow manage to be so demanding."

Jounouchi only responded with a small chuckle before slinking his way out of Kaiba's office, leaving behind an errant grinned that quickly followed him on his way out, barely leaving Kaiba any time to grasp it.

That was fine, though. Kaiba didn't have much time, anyway, before his next meeting was set to commence. This time, he was due for a dreaded reunion with Charles Reowae.

Pegasus had, as usual, insisted that he have someone from Industrial Illusions' legal team there to develop and refine the legal logistics of the dueling tournament along with the new products it would be featuring. And then, as expected, Pegasus had chosen Reowae to be Industrial Illusions' legal representative.

He looked just as professional and put-together as he had the first time they had met, but Reowae's hair looked expertly cut and styled, and a fresh, lightly musky scent followed him. It even appeared as though Reowae had gone ahead and invested in some fillers to tone down the lines around his eyes sometime in the weeks since Kaiba had last seen him.

To be honest, it made him look even better than before. Briefly, Kaiba wondered at what age he was going to start investing in his own anti-aging procedures.

"Hello, Mr. Kaiba," Reowae greeted blandly. He extended a hand out politely, but he seemed distracted. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing well," Kaiba responded, his own tone just as dull. He shook Reowae's hand firmly but didn't bother to return the question. He assumed that they both knew where they stood with each other, and Reowae didn't seem to take any offense to it.

With little preamble and much less posturing than when they had first met, they quickly set to work. Now that there was a concrete and more pressing task at hand to discuss, they both had enough to occupy their time with. Furthermore, after the anxious rage from their last meeting had faded, Kaiba was filled with even more embarrassment at the thought of him becoming so heated about Jounouchi, of all people, from nothing more than a few goads. Kaiba had slipped, like a boy on the schoolyard falling for simple taunts, and he hated it.

Even if Jounouchi was prone to fling himself into trouble, as Honda had mentioned, Kaiba didn't think it was time yet to run himself haggard about it. Jounouchi was a grown man who, hopefully, was a bit more equipped to ask for help if he needed it.

It didn't matter that Kaiba himself still refused to seek the aid of others. That was different.

Regardless, the meeting came and went. There was nothing much to discuss just yet. Reowae had just gone over a few matters that Kaiba's own legal team could've handled themselves before promising that he would go ahead and do further research on other potential issues.

"I'll keep in touch," Reowae said as he prepared to leave, carefully annotated notes and figures neatly packed away, copies left behind for Kaiba to look over. "Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or concerns before our next meeting."

Kaiba gave a sharp nod as his answer. Reowae turned to leave and strode toward the office door with large, heavy steps before stopping just short of actually leaving. Carefully, he turned his head, just enough so that he could glance over at Kaiba. From this angle, Kaiba could see that even Reowae's profile was quite impressive for his age. He had high cheekbones still covered with enough fat to keep him from looking gaunt, a sharp jawline that almost looked harsh, and a strong nose that made his appearance all the more regal.

Kaiba supposed it was no surprise that Jounouchi had been _involved_ with Reowae, all things considered.

"I hear you are working closely with Jounouchi on this project," Reowae began, words slow and deliberate, "now that it has been decided that he will be one of the tournament's featured duelists."

"Yes," Kaiba replied easily, keeping his voice little more than a light breeze, a woeful mockery of cooling air on a blistering summer day. "That is correct."

Reowae opened his mouth slightly, and Kaiba could even see his lips begin to form words. He stopped himself, though, deliberated for such a brief moment that Kaiba almost missed it, before finally speaking. "I see. Let me know if there are any legalities regarding the contestants that you are unsure about or what like to discuss."

Reowae was now finally reaching for the door even though it was clear that he had yet to say his peace. It would have been so easy to just let him go as is. In fact, Kaiba wouldn't have had to do anything more than remain still and silent to watch him leave.

Except Kaiba, in an off crack of time where a part of him had dropped himself headfirst into a risk he had not fully calculated, spoke.

"If you want to meet with Jounouchi so badly, it would probably be easiest if you just did so yourself, rather than wait for an opportunity that may never come to present itself to you," Kaiba said. The words felt heavy on his tongue, speared and determined to stick. When he finally managed to dislodge them, the relief he felt was so deep it was intimidating.

With a stiff pulse of his shoulders, Reowae paused. This time, he stayed facing away from Kaiba, but his words were more than clear. "Yes, I suppose you're right."

Then, without another sound, he quickly left.

Kaiba was left alone, and he should've felt the calm wash over him at the return of his space to no one but himself. But it didn't. Instead, there was a creeping restlessness washing over and digging into him, punctuated with a frantic energy that sucked at the corner of his eyes until they ached.

His mouth felt overwrought, and, without even thinking, Kaiba grabbed his phone and scrolled through his previous calls.

He hadn't saved Jounouchi's number as a contact, but he knew with startling acuteness which was his. Before he could convince himself otherwise, before he could give himself the chance for someone to brand him as a hypocrite, he pushed call.

The line rang for no more than an instant before Jounouchi picked up. "Hello? Kaiba? Is something wrong? Did I leave something in your office?"

"No," Kaiba answered hurriedly. He made sure to hold the receiver a touch too far from his mouth, though, so that his harried breath wouldn't be easily picked up by it. "I was just wondering if you were free this Friday evening."

"For the next meeting? Already?"

"No," Kaiba said again. "I'm asking whether or not you'd like to come to my place that night."

Kaiba was met with a brief pause before Jounouchi's teasing voice filled his ear. "You're giving me my own personal invite to your place? Wow, you sure know how to make a guy feel special."

"I try," Kaiba said, opting to play along. It was easier than getting into those massive, sometimes bloody fights that they used to find themselves in. The potential was still there, would probably never go away, and they would no doubt find themselves in a similar situation soon enough. Until then, though, even Kaiba could play nice. It would probably be better for him in the end, anyway. Post-fight sex could only be so nice for so long if they kept having it so often.

"If you're going to be so nice to me, then I can only try my best to be as good. How about I bring another surprise along with me when I come visit?"

"Another dress?"

"That wasn't what I was thinking off, but I can do that too, if you want."

"Let's see what you have planned first, and then we can decide."

Jounouchi agreed easily, voice bright and expectant, and Kaiba couldn't help but feel a bit giddy himself. The moment really was just a moment, but it left behind the sweet promise of a fun and simple romp that tendered Kaiba's senses more than he would've liked to admit.

But, maybe it was fine for now to bask in it. He needed simple fun. Perhaps he even deserved it.

 

* * *

 

 

Jounouchi arrived at Kaiba's penthouse with a black duffel bag tucked under his arm. He didn't say anything about it, opting to let Kaiba wonder about it as he demanded to be fed.

At all the noise, Chicos popped her head into the kitchen before she, too, meowed up at Kaiba imploringly for more food.

"You're a horrible influence," Kaiba grumbled as he pushed Chicos away from his plate. "She never did this before you came along."

"Sorry, we're not all high-strung control freaks about things like food," Jounouchi said absentmindedly.

"Except we can't all remain stick-thin despite constantly eating our own weight in food."

"It's blessing," Jounouchi said with a shrug, barely done with swallowing his last mouthful of food, "or maybe a curse."

They spent some time in relative ease. Jounouchi asked a few questions about the new Duel Disk and online database, simple things that had simple answers. It seemed that Jounouchi, too, was in the mood to keep things easy and simple.

Kaiba wasn't used to simple. Almost everyone who interacted with him had their own motives. That was fine, though. Kaiba did too. It was the nature of the beast.

Jounouchi, on the other hand, was just so damn straightforward that Kaiba, for once, felt that what it was it was. Even if Jounouchi did have some nefarious plot hidden somewhere, Kaiba was certain that it could never really be all that bad.

Jounouch - that same boy who had heedlessly crashed himself right into the burnt velveteen seats of danger like a fucking idiot all for the sake of _friendship_ \- was not mean enough for anything too threatening.

"Oh, I thought about what you asked for. About my opinions for the tournament," Jounouchi said suddenly, turning his attention away from Chicos back onto Kaiba. Chicos mewled with discontent but quickly resigned herself to the woeful lack of attention by pouncing off the couch and across the room.

"I wasn't expecting you to come up with an answer so quickly," Kaiba said. "There's still plenty of time."

"Yeah, but I... well, I met with Mai recently for a bit."

Kaiba nodded as encouragement for Jounouchi to continue. Mai Valentine was another potential duelist Kaiba was considering inviting as a featured guest, but she was so busy competing in tournaments overseas that he wasn't sure he would be able to catch her in a free moment before it was finalized. He might be in luck if she was in Domino City, though.

"And it reminded me of some stuff," Jounouchi continued haltingly, hastily flicking his gaze to the side.

Kaiba wasn't the most patient person. It was a fault of his that he blamed on Gozaburo, a man who so oppressively ordered for perfect, instant results to the point that Kaiba could barely breathe if things weren't done quickly enough. The pause lodged itself in the base of his throat and left a barbed piece of dread so sharp that Kaiba could just about taste the blood. The hurt was so intense that all he wanted to do was bark out orders, make them harsh enough in hopes that it would dislodge the damn thing.

But, he didn't. Instead, with a deep, shaky breath, he swallowed it down and waited. He could be nice. 

Finally, Jounouchi spoke again. "Anyway, I refuse to be a part of this tournament if all of its events are going to take place anywhere besides solid land. If there's any inclement weather then I want it everything to be postponed until it passes, and you _better_ vet your damn contestants better." Another hush fell over them. Jounouchi's eyes roved fast and endlessly, over and around the room in frenzied bursts before settling back steadfast onto Kaiba's face. "And I want a fully-staffed medical team to be on the premise, ready to go for anything and everything."

This time, it was Kaiba's turn to remain silent. Flashes of the past flew and crashed across the back of his eyes.

Jounouchi, brash but bold, facing down an imposter. Lightning littering the sky, approaching and then arrival. Two strikes on two people. One left standing, somehow unscathed.

'He'll be fine,' Kaiba had reasoned. 'Clearly, he already is.'

Mai Valentine, confidence shaken. Big, violet eyes usually so bright and fierce, lost and tired. A blow against Mai, Jounouchi, and even _him_. Mai left unconscious and Jounouchi furious.

'She'll be fine,' Kaiba had thought to himself. 'It's just a bit of shock. They're only holograms.'

Jounouchi, now dueling against the real one. Pushed to the edge but still there and facing a god. He was beautiful. Which he, Kaiba wasn't sure anymore. But Kaiba was sure of the pinprick memory of being awed by the sight, though, so golden pretty, hues leaving a lovely taste on his mouth, that his chest ached and his eyes burned.

Still, in the face of a god, Jounouchi was only just a boy. _He_ , the other one, had begged for Kaiba to stop the duel.

But Kaiba hadn't, felt that he couldn't. He needed to see a god in action for himself because he had thought that he could claim something that was far beyond what was ever allowed to be his.

So close, victory had been so close. Except, Jounouchi hadn't won. All that was left behind was a broken boy and everyone else asking for something sweeter than Kaiba had known how to give.

'He'll be fine," Kaiba had managed to convince himself. 'He survived it once before. At least now, with this, he's a true duelist.'

Kaiba had wanted so much with so much viciousness that it, in a spell, curtailed the reminder of what he didn't have. He had been a fool back then, but he wasn't too different now.

But he was different enough.

"Ok," Kaiba said, quiet but firm.

"Yeah?" Jounouchi asked, eyes searing hot through Kaiba's, searching for anything that so much as deviated from the truth. "You promise?"

"Yeah. I promise."

Their easy, simple mood had taken a sharp turn towards crushing reminiscence and introspection. Kaiba could hardly stand it, and it seemed as though Jounouchi felt the same.

Without a word, Jounouchi reached for Kaiba, urging him to sit down on the couch beside him. Kaiba relented without qualm and greatly welcomed the feeling of Jounouchi's lips on his own.

The kiss was lax and languid, their tongues grazing over each other with slow contentment. Kaiba lazily pushed his body against Jounouchi's and reveled in the gentle warmth of another person's body. Jounouchi allowed it for some time before he urged Kaiba off of him with a gentle nudge, and then even further when Kaiba hadn't moved away far enough.

Kaiba watched curiously as Jounouchi pulled away to look at Kaiba with slightly glazed eyes.

"Hey," Jounouchi said, deceptively casual for the big breaths he was gulping down, "can I eat you out?"

Kaiba snorted incredulously in response.

"Is that a no, then?"

"Not a no," Kaiba explained, leaning back. He could feel a wildly pleased grin creeping across his face that he didn't feel the need to hide. "I've just never been offered it before."

"That's a shame."

"That it is." Kaiba shifted, spreading his legs.

"So is it a yes now?" Jounouchi asked, already inching his hands towards the fly of Kaiba's pants.

"It's a yes."

They made quick work of each other's clothes, and Kaiba was laying face down on his couch, listening to Jounouchi rummage around behind him. It was strange, having his back to someone and not knowing exactly what they were doing behind him, but Kaiba let himself free some of his worries at the distinct feeling of Jounouchi's tongue flat against his asshole.

Jounouchi was better than Kaiba had expected. Granted, he didn't have any prior experience with having has asshole so painstakingly licked and lavished, but he figured that the rush and contented pleasure that kicked and sprinted up and down his nerves was indicative enough.

Jounouchi's tongue moved quickly, then slowly, and then oh-so nicely, and he wasn't afraid to go deep. His hands, too, were focused on roaming and massaging Kaiba's cheeks with purpose. He would spread Kaiba open wider before letting it go to give Kaiba a chance to breathe. Kaiba wasn't even sure when Jounouchi was breathing, really. Jounouchi hardly let up, his nose flush against Kaiba's skin.

It was all so nice, being taken care of, that Kaiba hadn't even noticed Jounouchi shift or heard the bottle of lube being opened. Kaiba could only presume that Jounouchi had retrieved it from his mysterious duffle bag by the foot of the couch because Kaiba had yet to start stocking lube in his living room.

Maybe it was time to start.

Either way, he wasn't in the mood to start thinking about stuff like that at the feeling of one of Jounouchi's slick fingers circling around his entrance in lieu of his tongue.

"Is this ok?" Jounouchi asked breathlessly. His other hand snaked around Kaiba's front to reach for his embarrassingly hard cock, which Kaiba allowed easily by tilting his body to the side.

"Yeah, it's fine," Kaiba answered just as breathy. "Just fingers, though."

"Ok."

Slowly, Jounouchi pushed in a finger and, despite how slender Jounouchi's fingers were, it still stung a bit. It had been a long time since Kaiba had ever had anything inside of him. Jounouchi was careful, though, and eager to distract him with eager strokes to his dick. With a hasty cue from Kaiba, Jounouchi pushed in another finger, and  _there_ it was. That nice bit of stretch that Kaiba liked.

With a gentleness that buttered his breath, Jounouchi began lightly thrusting his fingers.

"Oh, fuck," Kaiba groaned a few minutes later after Jounouchi had managed to brush up against Kaiba's prostate. "Right there."

Soon afterwards, Jounouchi had inserted one more finger. Timing the movements of his fingers with the stroking of his other hand, all while aiming for Kaiba's prostate, Jounouchi set to his task with a single-minded vigor that left some deep, desolate part of Kaiba crooning from the attention.

Kaiba didn't manage to last much longer, much to his disappointment. "I'm gonna come," he ground out hotly through his teeth, leaning away from his couch so he wouldn't stain the leather. It wouldn't have been too much of a hassle to replace it if necessary, but he much preferred not having to for something like a semen stain. Thankfully, Jounouchi was quick to follow Kaiba's lead, leaning back with Kaiba.

Kaiba was glad that he had thought of that early because his orgasm hit him fast and sudden, his senses blazing into a full-body burn before leaving him blank save for heady satisfaction. And, in the wake of his orgasm, Kaiba was so at ease that he couldn't help the hiccuped laugh that bubbled from his mouth. He looked over at Jounouchi and hoped that he didn't look as ridiculous as he felt.

If he did, Jounouchi didn't seem to care. Jounouchi looked mostly the same as ever, vaguely pleased with his own glowing smile. "Was it good?"

"Yeah," Kaiba breezed, leaning back against the couch as he gathered back his mind. "It was good."

"I'm glad."

He looked back at Jounouchi before glancing quickly at his neglected dick. "Was that the surprise you had for me?" Kaiba asked.

"Oh, please, no. That's basic shit. I had something more _exciting_  hopefully planned," Jounouchi said. Taking note of Kaiba's eyes on him, Jounouchi lazily took his own dick in his own hand.

"Is that so? I'm curious to see what you've got."

Biting his lips, Jounouchi let his eyelids droop down seductively before crawling over to Kaiba. Slowly, he leaned his head down and licked up Kaiba's abdomen, lapping up the drying come. Kaiba's abdomen twitched at the ministrations along with his hitching breath, revealing just how much he was enjoying it. After he was done, Jounouchi looked up with a sly grin, his own pleased laugh nestled on the tip of his tongue.

"Let's do it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope this chapter wasn't too boring, but oh, wow, what a cliffhanger haha!
> 
> also, i know i get lazy with responding to comments, but i want you to know that i do read and appreciate all of them! and i'm always ready to hear about your opinions on my writing, esp stuff like characterization and pacing!
> 
> thanks for reading, and i hope you enjoyed!
> 
> also come find my at me new tumblr
> 
> https://fever-d-dreams.tumblr.com


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